Finishing Machine: Was it Road Rage Murder or Self-Defense? A Trained Killer's Fight for Justice (True Crime Defense Attorney Case Files Book 1) by Mike Arnold & Emilia Gardner

Author:Mike Arnold & Emilia Gardner [Arnold, Mike]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Versus Publishing
Published: 2016-12-10T00:00:00+00:00

(Gerald and Eddie Bravo, July 14, 2007.)

I told Bravo that it was exactly Gerald’s hand-to-hand (and foot-to-head) “Finishing Machine”-style technique that would be heavily scrutinized at trial. When I asked Bravo to help me figure out how to counter-attack those who were saying that Gerald shouldn’t have needed a rifle to defend himself against Crofut, the fighter-trainer was happy to try to help. I began by sharing with Bravo some of the comments that were popping up on the internet wherever the case was being discussed:

1. Actual Commenter (name withheld): What's wrong with knocking the guy out or shooting him in the leg?

2. Actual Commenter (name withheld): As a UFC fighter he clearly had other options.....he will be found guilty because immediately after the incident he said "I could not see what he had" he didn't ever say he had a gun, knife or anything. The only person with a weapon was Gerald. You can't kill someone because you can't see their hands. You can defend yourself but just like a cop only with reasonable force.. He could of just locked himself in his truck and if the guy broke in with any hard object then he could say he feared he could be greatly injured by the guy and what he was holding. Sorry but Gerald will do time...

3. Actual Commenter (name withheld): He was a UFC fighter. What a pussy. Why not just knock the guy out? Job done.

When Bravo heard the comments, he chuckled. But Bravo told me that, despite Gerald’s skills and discipline, he didn’t think that martial arts training would be of help to anyone who is being attacked by a man with a gun. “Mixed martial arts is a sport,” Bravo told me. “It’s an on-the-ground training program that doesn’t teach you how to use guns or knives, or how to defend yourself against them.” He said that a practitioner’s only choices when faced with such lethal weaponry would be to run, tackle or choke the aggressor. In fact, he considered any direct engagement with a suspected armed attacker to be extremely risky. Martial arts should only be considered a last resort, Bravo said, the thing to try when it’s the only option left or available. It’s a self-defense method, but it isn’t considered a technique for disarming someone.

While multiple witnesses with MMA/UFC backgrounds would testify in agreement with Bravo, I knew there were many other witnesses who were prepared to testify to the contrary. Some would say that if Gerald was experienced enough in close-quarters combat to teach others defensive techniques (and he was, of course), he should have been capable of fighting and disarming Crofut that night on Bob Straub Parkway. Mitch Cox, Gerald’s Marine Corps friend, was one such potential witness. At the time Cox knew Gerald, he considered him a "good kid." But given what he saw of Gerald’s skills, he told me, it was hard for Cox to believe that Gerald was fully engaged by only one person. He told me, "This kid can fight hand to hand.

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