A Juneau man has been charged with felony assault after accidently shooting his brother in the leg as they were driving home from a gun range in December.
The district attorney’s office charged Seth B. Bingham, 32, with one felony count of second-degree domestic violence assault and one misdemeanor count of misconduct involving weapons.
The charges have incensed and perplexed the family, who say their family has suffered enough.
“This is absolutely tragic,” the boy’s father, Boyce Bingham, said in a phone interview Friday. “Everybody, including the legal system, is a loser in this thing — family devastation, loss of limb, dignity, self-respect.”
As the Empire reported earlier, the two brothers were driving home from a day at the Hank Harmon Rifle Range when Seth disassembled his pistol in the truck. A round went off, striking Joseph “Joe” Bingham, 27, in the femoral artery in his leg.
Joseph was taken to Bartlett Regional Hospital then medevaced to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where his right leg was amputated above the knee as a result of the accident.
The shooting has taken an enormous toll on both brothers, Boyce said.
“Why the district attorney thinks that it’s important to pursue this in the interest of public justice or to ensure the law has been represented, I think is categorically wrong,” he said. “The amount of stress this has placed on Seth’s family, as he internalizes it, is horrible. It’s had a negative effect on his life, our life, the life of his family, our relations. ... Joe and Seth have a great relationship. It’s very difficult for Seth to see his brother hobble around on a crutch.”
Both Seth and Joseph declined to be interviewed on Friday. District Attorney David Brower refused to comment, saying, “I’m not going to discuss any pending case or why charges were brought. I’m not going to discuss my decision making.”
According to an affidavit filed by Brower, Seth told police in an interview that the pistol was a new weapon to him, a Springfield XD without a traditional external hammer, and that he thought he had taken the magazine out.
“Bingham stated that he thought he had taken the magazine out and ran the slide to unload the barrel, and then pulled the trigger to release the pressure in the gun,” the affidavit states. “... Bingham stated that in order to separate the top from the gun frame and lower portion of the gun, you have to lift up two pins on order to release the slide and take it apart. However, you cannot lift the two pins without releasing the trigger. Bingham stated that he pulled the trigger and the gun went off and that he had his hand over the ejection port when the gun went off,” the affidavit states.
When Joseph was hit, Seth immediately stopped the truck, made a tourniquet to place around Joseph’s leg to stop the bleeding and called 911.
Juneau Police Department and medics met them at Floyd Dryden Middle School.
Boyce said that Seth bought the pistol the same week of the accident.
He added that Seth’s quick actions saved Joseph’s life, saying that when a femoral artery is severed, people can die within minutes.
“Seth shot Joe, but Seth also saved Joe’s life,” Boyce said. “He acted appropriately. He knew exactly what needed to happen.”
Charges were leveled against Seth last month, and he is scheduled to appear in court for a status hearing in the case on March 8.
As the case continues, Boyce says both his sons are trying to move on with their lives. Joseph, for instance, was married on Saturday.
“Everybody’s trying to get on with our lives, put this behind us,” he said. He described the shooting as being a careless human mistake, and said, “I’m not blaming the legal system for all of our woes, but for heaven’s sake, it doesn’t make sense to press charges... There is such a thing as mercy, there’s a way of handling malicious intent versus accidents.”
• Contact reporter Emily Russo Miller at 523-2263 or at emily.miller@juneauempire.com.
Comments (51)
Add commentThe DA needs to get his priorities straight!
Brower chooses to drop case against a accused child rapist, presses charges against a kid for sex texting his girl friend and then throws the book at a brother for accidently shooting his brother in the leg!! Mr. Brower needs to pull his head out the clouds and get his priorities straight.
Brower has something wrong with him...
We just received a phone call this morning (a Sunday, no less) from JPD that a summons was waiting. Why? Because Grandpa and Daddy went to the day care center where their two children (grandchildren for the Grandpa) were and brought them home. So, this is seen by DA Brower as criminal trespass. WHAT??? This is the same day care that later was charged with abuse. (These little babies are four and two.) Dad and Grandpa both had been on the list of people to whom the children could be released to. Unbeknownst to them, they had been removed from the list the day before by the Mom, without any reason or notice. What crime is that, DA Brower?
This DA has some kind of problem, if he behaves toward our community in this fashion. Those beautiful babies were protected from that place. Shame on you, Brower. We won't know for a while and much money later (THAT's what this is really about, huh, Brower) what the outcome will be, but this is as bad as charging a brother with a felonious crime for having an accident. What power do we the people have against a government that is NOT looking out for the best interests of its citizenry?
Assault by means of a dangerous instrument
One need not act with malicious intent, intentionally, or even knowingly, in order to commit the crime of assault. One commits the crime of assault if one "recklessly" causes physical injury to another. The assault rises to the level of a felony when the assault is by means of a dangerous instrument. A firearm is a dangerous instrument. One acts "recklessly" when one is aware of, and consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the result will occur, in this case physical injury.
Probably the first thing taught at any gun safety course is to treat any firearm as if it is loaded, and to be aware of where the muzzle is pointed. Many injuries are caused by disregard of this basic safety rule. At trial, much might depend on what steps were taken to lead the person to believe the firearm was unloaded, or that it was not pointed at another person. But it does not offend my sense of justice to conclude that a person who pulls the trigger of a firearm that is pointed at another person acts recklessly, even if he mistakenly thought the weapon was unloaded.
As if....
As if enough has'nt happened already some A$%^&*ho$^%%^ has to throw gas on the fire. So much for my faith in the system which is now dead.
Lord, help us
Not enough crimes to put people in our overcrowded prisons? Let's create some. Yep, take someone who has gone through a traumatic ordeal he will live with his whole life and make it worse, just to tell the good folks you are "doing something" about crime. We create criminals in this country with our insane drug laws and such, and now we are taking people who most likely committed a terrible accident and want to make them felons. Humanity has been thrown out the window.
Snoman80 is right
humanity has been thrown out the window, also Brower said " I'm not going to discuss any impending case or why charges were brought. I'm not going to discuss my decision making." What a chicken sh$%^t attitude .
At face value, you have one
At face value, you have one person negligently and illegally shot and grieviously injured by another person. That, in any context, is a crime if the shooting was not in self defense. I do not always agree with the DA Office but I do beliieve many of you are letting emotions cloud your judgement on the charges.
Chances are that this young man will not become a convicted felon as a result of this however, the DA does need to hold him responsible for his actions. What he did is a crime. Like it or not, it is hard to swallow.
The Ervin case was a travesty and I am sickened by the outcome. I do believe the DA is right in charging this case.
Really, really?
What happened was NOT a crime, it WAS an accident. What the DA is doing is not a crime, it IS a tragedy. Two wrongs, legal or moral, sure as hell wont make a right!
DA's staff
Apparently "really" is the DA or on his staff. Every shooting, that is not in self defense, is not necessarily a crime as "really" would have us believe. Accidents do happen.
It is time to rally together and get rid of Brower
All we have to do is look at the shockingly poor (and self-serving) decisions of DA Brower to realize that it is time for him to go.
Brower is clearly out of touch with the serious issues facing this community: drugs, domestic violence, sexual crimes against minors, and the list goes on.
Within the span of two weeks, Brower has refused to take a child molesting former police office to trial and is now wasting precious resources with the case above.
This is a pattern with him. It's time for you to go, Mr. Brower.
Accidents don't "happen"
Oriansbow, if you worked in a blue collar trade you'd know that all accidents are preventable. When they happen, it's a consequence of someone making a bad choice for himself or that affects someone else.
In the case of youth, the choice may be immature or uninformed, but think through every gun-owning adult you know and name one that would fiddle with an unfamiliar weapon in a moving vehicle while driving near a school.
Yes, a jury may well decide that living with the result of his actions may be punishment enough; and that's OK because that is our judicial system. But as a parent of one of those FD students, I think a jury should be allowed to consider the law; the circumstances; and what else could have gone horribly wrong that day -- because of a bad choice that was made.
Mediawatchdog.
Perhaps all accidents “could” be prevented, but they are not! They “happen” hence the old saying. There is NO reason to take punishment to the extreme just because one can. In a case like the one under discussion here, to go to court with a felony over the mans head is not only the wrong thing to do, it boarders the despicable. Enough harm has already been done and any reasonable person would recognize that. Of what value is it to rationalize a great justice being done by piling on this family? Nothing can be gained by going through with a trail, and remember, “The DA reflects the values of the community!” are those really the values of Juneau
Media
Accidents may be preventable, but that does not make them crimes.
Alaska and Orion, a couple of facts to consider
I can appreciate your sympathy for the suffering already endured by this family, but not your lack of empathy for the children and families near the event when it happened.
Just so you know, had the round been discharged out an open window of the truck it could have traveled as far as 1800 feet -- if not striking someone or something along the way.
Still, that sympathy doesn't replace the function of a jury when a law has been broken. By the way, that law is CBJ ordinance 42.20.040, Careless Use of Firearms.
None of us yet know what circumstances the investigating officers found that ended in recommendation for prosecution, or why at the felony level, but that will come to light through the process.
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By the letter of the law, he
By the letter of the law, he did recklessly cause physical injury. It says nothing about intending to do so. That is one way he can go.
In the spirit of the law, I don't feel this is what it is intended for. This is to protect victims from stupidity and those that can not stand up or speak up for them selves.
The judicial system is 100% broken.
Providing justice is what it should be about. Sending. This kid to trial or god forbid jail, is not justice. He should be there helping his brother and young family, not prepping for a very public court battle.
Do the right thing, be wise enough to see past the letter of the law.
NO Crime
Media- No children or families were injured in this incident. You cant have empathy for the children and families where no trauma existed. And I am quite familiar with ballistics. But I couldn't care less what CBJ ordinance it violates. It was an accident, pure and simple. Prosecute every accident and Brower has a very busy schedule
FIREGUY
You probably said it best
I made mention that I bet this would happend....
I made mention that I bet this would happend to Joe's friends at his fund raiser as a friend of our once shot himself over a lost love, he lived and the state of Alaska took him to court and charged him for hurting himself and a few other charges & he was the only one hurt other then the blood he left in my truck when he was picked up & drove to the hospital. Its the way it works EVERYONE will just have to learn to deal with it
because its the way the State works not just the DA.
All the best to Joe & his family,
I never went to lawyer school
I never went to lawyer school but I assume the charge of domestic violence is because the victim was a brother.? That seems to be a big stretch to me. The charge of misconduct involving a weapon also seems to be a hard hand. Accidents involving weapons happen. That's why we have gun safety courses, but they will never be 100% effective. I think the DA is the only person in this town that believes this is justice.
In addition, lets reflect on
In addition, lets reflect on the fairly recent accident involving the pizza delivery guy. A deadly weapon, aka a vehicle, operated in an errant fashion. What's the difference? The fiftyish driver that crossed the center line was not cited.
KEEP THE GUNS OUT OF HIS HANDS!
A reason to prosecute his is to make sure this does not happen again. If he is convicted he cannot handle a gun again and cause someone else pain-I see nothing wrong with keeping a gun out of his hands. The only legal remedy to make sure he does not have access to a gun is to prosecute him.
I sympathize with all the parties at hand but the DA has a responsibility to the public to make sure we all are safe. I would feel better knowing that he doesn't have access to a gun.
black and white
It is the function of the police department to investigate, determine if there is evidence of a crime: violation of law. Not to pass personal judgement of whether the crime is justified or even accidental.
It is the function of the prosecuter to present that evidence to the court. Not act as judge and jury but to present.
It is the function of the court to determine whether or not the law was violated. Shades of grey don't come into play until the court.
I for one would vastly prefer violations be handled this way. While saddened for the family. I feel charges are justified. Not because of any desire to see punishment, but to uphold the law. The actions were reckless, does not mean intentional, means without proper care and caution. I think most will agree more reasonable caution could and probably should have been used. Don't like the law change it. But I would much rather see it applied evenly, equally across the board. Let the courtroom determine the outcome. Please may justice never be determined in the court of public opinion, we would all loose.
All that being said. I too will be adding my prayers of healing to the family. May they find the inner peace and strength to heal and overcome this struggle. I pray it strenthens them as people and a family unit, so that some good can come.