03x50 - g*n Brandishing Brother

[bunniefuu]

Two brothers fighting with each other.

And you went upstairs
and retrieved your g*n.

To use it in self-defense
if he was going to choke me again.

-That never happened.
-I had been choked three times.

When he was pointing the g*n at me
and my son, I had to put him behind me

just in case he decided
to fire a shot off.

Really?

His child was there.

[narrator] This is Judy Justice.

[theme music playing]

[narrator]
Shea McNulty and Amanda Warren

are suing Shea's brother,
Desmond Fairbanks,

for lost wages, hotel bills,
and injuries from an as*ault.

[Kevin] Court come to order.
All rise.

Have a seat, please.

Hello, Judge. Case number 3091,
McNulty-Warren vs Fairbanks.

[Judy] Got it.
Mr. McNulty, this is your brother?

-Yes, ma'am.
-And this is your fiancée?

Correct.

And the two of you were living
in your grandfather's house.

[Shea] Yes, ma'am.

-Who's also your grandfather.
-Yes, ma'am.

Also living in the house was your son?

No. We had not moved in at that moment.

But you were planning on moving in
with your son.

Yes, ma'am.

An incident occurred
when you came to the house...

[Desmond] Yes.

...and your brother
and Ms. Warren were there.

And there was an altercation on May 8th...

-Yes.
-...of last year.

Mr. McNulty, you work as a security guard?

Yes, Your Honor.

And you're licensed to carry a g*n.

I have a CCW...
Concealed Carry Weapons license.

And how long have you had that?

Over a year and a half as of today.

[Judy] I'm gonna do a general picture.

-You came with your son.
-Yes.

[Judy] I don't know, whether to look at
the room that you were going to move into.

The two of you have a history
of not getting along, or just...?

I just... we just don't talk.

I don't really associate
with them anymore.

Well, prior to May 8th,
you didn't associate with them, either.

-Yes.
-[Judy] Okay.

I want you to tell me what happened
when your brother arrived with his son.

Well, when the got there on May 8th,
it was about 9:30-10:00 in the morning.

Did you know that they were moving in?

We found out two weeks prior.

It was brought to our attention,
but there was no specific date.

[Judy] Okay. So who told you?

He notified us first
via face-to-face conversation

while he was at the house the previous day
prior to the incident.

[Judy] Okay. So you knew they were coming.

And on May 8th,
they arrived in the morning.

Yes.

And your fiancée was
less than pleased that they were there.

Yes.

Okay. And is there any particular reason
why your fiancée was less than pleased

that your brother was coming
to his grandfather's house?

Just because of the comment that she made

that people show up unannounced
without us knowing.

-Or surprising us.
-[Judy] It's not her house.

I understand. No, she was
just upset that he showed up.

And then that's when
she had made the comment

that people show up unannounced.
And that was what started the events.

Yeah. She should probably butt out
of business that doesn't involve her.

Does your fiancée work?

Yes, she does.

Does she contribute to the household?
In what way does she contribute?

We were paying
the utilities for the house.

That was it,
because the house is paid off.

But your grandfather lives there,
does he not?

Yes, he does.

He doesn't charge you rent?

No. He only said pay half the utilities.

-And that was all he required.
-[Judy] Okay.

So he doesn't charge you rent.

You'd have to pay all the utilities
if you lived someplace else.

Yes. Correct.

So there's an altercation on May 8th,

because your fiancée
starts up with your brother,

who, clearly, you knew was coming
two weeks before.

Yes. Two weeks, yes.

And you're gonna tell me about
this combat that took place.

But at some point, you left this place

where you were
all fighting with each other,

and you went upstairs
and retrieved your g*n.

Yes. My firearm out of the safe.

And when you came downstairs,
the police were there.

Not at the time, Your Honor.

[Judy] What did you do with the g*n
when you came downstairs with the g*n?

-You retrieved the g*n...
-Yes, Your Honor.

...you went downstairs, and what was
your intention to do with the g*n?

At that time, my intention was
to use it in self-defense

if he was going to choke me again.
I had been choked three times.

[Judy] Now, you've extricated yourself
from the situation.

You managed to go upstairs.

You could also go outside.
You could go anywhere.

But you went upstairs to get a g*n...

[Shea] Yes.

...to bring downstairs.

And you weren't in danger
when you were upstairs, right?

Correct.

So then you come downstairs,
police arrive, and they arrest you.

Yes.

[Judy]
And they arrest you on what charges?

The original three charges were as*ault,
domestic violence,

and aggravated menacing.

Did you point the g*n at your brother?

-After he tried to...
-[Judy] Just a second.

-Yes.
-[Judy] The answer is yes.

-[Shea] Yes, Your Honor.
-You have to understand...

-Yes, Your Honor.
-[Judy] Once you're able to withdraw

from a situation
that clearly was precipitated by her,

but you're able to withdraw from it,

you can't go someplace else and get a g*n
and come down and sh**t him or menace him,

because you have an alternative.

And your alternative is you're safe,
you're upstairs.

Lock yourself in a bathroom.
Go out the back door.

You subsequently pled guilty.
You got a deal.

They gave you, according to you,
a disorderly conduct.

-Yes, Your Honor.
-[Judy] As a result of the same incident.

I don't care what you pled guilty to,
you pled guilty.

And now you're suing him
for the following...

hotel bills, because you and your fiancée
had to move out

of your grandfather's house
where you weren't paying rent.

-That's part of your lawsuit.
-Yes.

That's dismissed.

Lost wages. Well, you had lost wages
because you work as a security guard.

In order to work as a security guard,
you need a g*n, correct?

No. I'm unarmed.

-[Judy] Really?
-Yes, I'm unarmed.

So what did you need a g*n for?

He's allowed to call your boss and say,
"You don't want this guy around.

He's got a g*n, and he came downstairs
and he was brandishing the g*n."

His child was outside.

His child was there.

Off of the property.

-[Judy] Is that correct?
-No, Your Honor.

When he was pointing the g*n at me
and my son, I had to put him behind me

just in case he decided
to fire a shot off.

[theme music playing]

[narrator] Shea McNulty and Amanda Warren
claim Shea's brother, Desmond Fairbanks,

owes for injuries
resulting from an as*ault.

Desmond is countersuing,
saying he was assaulted by Shea.

So what did you need a g*n for?

At that time,
after I was choked three times,

it was in case I needed it.

I had retreated back into the house
to get away from him, and he followed me.

[Judy] No, no, no, no.

I thought you needed the g*n for your job,
because you're also suing for lost wages.

No. The g*n has nothing to do with my job.

I'm unarmed security
for the state of Ohio.

Okay. So then what did he have to do with
you being out of work for five months?

Because he called my boss and told him.

And I also have a statement from my boss

saying that he did
receive a call from him

and because he did call him,
that he has to suspend me without pay.

Because you brandished a g*n.

No. It was just because of the fact...

No. He told your boss
that you had brandished a g*n.

I don't know if he told him that.

Well, why do you think
you were suspended from your job?

Because he called them to make them
aware of the situation, and...

-[Judy] Yeah.
-And because I am a security officer,

I have a guard card.

The Homeland Security suspended it
because I was away from work.

He had called my boss
and spoke to him directly.

[Judy] That's all right.
He's allowed to do that.

You pled guilty.
If you pled guilty to disorderly conduct,

you pled guilty to being the aggressor.

Whether it was an as*ault
or an attempted as*ault, a battery,

you pled guilty.

That's the same thing
as being found guilty by a jury.

He's allowed to call your boss and say,
"You don't want this guy around.

He's got a g*n, and he came downstairs
and he was brandishing the g*n.

Threatening me, menacing me.
And I had a child there with me,

a five-year-old child."
His child was there, right?

His child was outside.

His child was there.

Off of the property,
but, yes, he was there.

-[Judy] Well, of course.
-He was off of the property.

What do you mean, "off of the property?"
He was in somebody else's house?

No. He was outside sitting on a tailgate

on the street in the truck
in the back of the truck bed.

He wasn't on the property
when this incident happened.

-He wasn't around to...
-You mean he was alone?

-By himself?
-[Shea] Yes.

-Out there, five-years-old?
-[Shea] Yes.

-Is that correct?
-No, Your Honor, that is not correct.

When he was pointing the g*n at me
and my son, I had to put him behind me

just in case he decided
to fire a shot off.

Where were you when he pointed the g*n?

On our back porch steps.

-[Judy] Outside?
-[Desmond] Yes, ma'am.

Were you both on the back porch?

Myself, my son, him, and Amanda
were all on the back steps

at that moment when he had the g*n.

[Judy]
Okay. So he's allowed to call your boss.

I don't think that you should
have a g*n anyway

if you think that you had the right
under these circumstances

to go up, get it,
come down, and brandish it.

Okay, Lost wages he doesn't owe you
if you got suspended from your job.

If you got fired from your job, so be it.

Hotel bills. Why do you think
he should pay your hotel bills?

I'll get to the incident in a second.
Maybe.

Why do you think he should pay
your hotel bills?

Because we were essentially
illegally thrown out.

We didn't receive any type of notice,
and there was a protection order.

[Judy] It's not his house.
It's your grandfather's house.

Why don't you sue your grandfather?

My grandfather wasn't there to witness...

It doesn't make any difference.
He can't throw you out of the house.

Only your grandfather can throw you out.

Did your grandfather throw you out?

No, he didn't throw me out.

But my mother was the one who told her
while I was in jail

that she didn't want us living there.

But she doesn't live there.

She gets the house
when my grandfather passes away.

She is the daughter of your grandfather.

So she told you
on your grandfather's behalf

to get out of the house.
What are you suing him for?

He can't tell you to get out of the house.

Only the owner can tell you
to get out of the house.

And the fact that he doesn't have to give
you any notice, he doesn't own it.

-You get it?
-Yes, Your Honor.

Hotel bills... [pen scratching]
You have to start taking care of yourself.

What kind of work do you do
other than security guard?

Yeah. I had to start up a small business
while I was doing this

to supplement my income.

Good. And what does your girlfriend do?

She works customer service.

[Judy] Where?

At a retail store, a big-box store.

Okay. So you have enough money
to pay rent someplace,

to go find someplace, pay rent,
and live like two adults.

How old are you?

I'm 36, Your Honor.

-[Judy] And you?
-36.

Well, then, you know, live like grown-ups.
Don't live in your grandfather's house.

Go pay rent.

We moved there to help his grandfather,
'cause he's 86 years old.

He needed help around the house.

Well, evidently, not anymore.

He just asked us to move in.

I moved her out of her house
into his house.

-And we moved in. He just said...
-[Judy] Wait. When?

This was February 12th of 2023.

Okay. So you moved in in February
and you were told to leave... what?

We were there, I believe,
a total of three months.

-From February to May.
-[Judy] Oh. Okay.

So you have to find yourself
a place to live.

Actual damages for as*ault...

Now, you pled guilty.

So I'm not interested
in whatever as*ault took place.

You pled guilty to being the aggressor
in this incident.

Are you claiming that you were assaulted
as a result of this?

-Yes, ma'am.
-[Judy] Okay.

So now tell me exactly, in your words,
how the defendant assaulted you.

He had Mr. McNulty in a choke hold.

[Judy] Just a second.
That's not how it started.

It started because you said to him...

I made a comment under my breath,
um, people like to show up unannounced.

He didn't like what I had to say.

[Judy] What did he say to you?

He got in my face and said,
"What did you say?

What the hell did you say?
I wanna hear what you have to say."

And that's when Mr. McNulty
stepped in between us,

put his arms out, and said,
"Hey, don't talk to her like that.

Just go in the house.

Just go in the house.
She wasn't talking to you."

You were talking to him.

-You were talking to him.
-[Amanda] Not directly.

-Not directly.
-You were nasty.

But at that point,
Mr. Fairbanks pushed him down the steps.

They got into a physical altercation.

When you said
that your fiancé separated you,

explain to me exactly how that happened.

So Mr. Fairbanks was
standing in front of me.

Mr. McNulty jumped in between us
and put his arms out

and said, "Hey, that's enough.
Don't talk to her like that."

Okay. Put his hands out,
didn't touch anybody.

-No.
-[Judy] Okay. And then what happened?

And then Mr. Fairbanks laid his hands
on Mr. McNulty first

and pushed him down the step.

Is that correct?

No, Your Honor, that is not correct.

Okay. We're not talking about his as*ault.

Okay? He pled guilty
to whatever happened that day.

I wanna hear how he assaulted you.

-[Amanda] I'm getting to that.
-Well, get there.

So he had attacked Mr. McNulty from behind
and got him in a choke hold.

You know, kind of blindsided him.

So at that point, I was like,
"Okay, what do I do?"

I had to pull Mr. Fairbanks
off of Mr. McNulty.

[Judy] How did you do that?

I was on the phone with 911,
kind of got my arm around him...

[Judy] Got your arm around his what?

His face. I was trying to pull
him off of Mr. McNulty.

Use your fiancé as an example
of how you tried to pull him off.

Show me on him.

So he was on top of Mr. McNulty.
He had his back to me.

So I, you know, came up
and tried to pull him off.

[Judy] You put your arm around his neck.

-Not his neck.
-[Judy] On his what?

Like right... like right here.

Right in this area.
I didn't put it around his neck.

[Judy] Okay.

At that point, he turned around,
pushed me in the face,

and pushed me down the back porch stairs.

And...?

Which resulted in
me going to the hospital.

I was eight months out of
an ACL reconstruction at that point.

And when I hit the ground,
the impact from hitting the ground

damaged that knee
that I had just had fixed.

Did you put your hands on him first?

Somebody gets the short end of the stick
in an as*ault.

And just because you may have gotten
the short end of the stick

doesn't give you the right
to put your hands on him.

Aside from the fact that your big mouth
started this whole thing

between the two brothers anyway.

[theme music playing]

[narrator] Shea McNulty and Amanda Warren
are accusing Shea's brother,

Desmond Fairbanks, of owing for injuries
resulting from an as*ault.

Desmond is countersuing,
claiming he was the one assaulted.

Did you put your hands on him first?

-To pull him off...
-[Judy] Just...

-Yes.
-[Judy] I don't care what you did.

Did you put your hands on him first?

You had two brothers
fighting with each other.

They were not fighting.
He was choking him.

Okay, and you put your hands on him first.

To get him off, yes.

[Judy] Okay, and he pushed you off.

He threw me down the stairs.

Well, you've got your hands around him.

I want you to explain to me
how he threw you down the stairs.

He let go of Mr. McNulty,

stood up, turned around,
put his hand in my face,

and threw me down the stairs.

Okay. Now I'd like to see
your hospital records.

I have private insurance.

-The only thing I have...
-[Judy] No, no, no, no.

Hospital records.

This happened on May 8th,

so I want to see your records
from May 8th.

Is that a hospital record?

Yeah. They gave you Tylenol.

-They did a lot of X-rays...
-They gave you Tylenol.

Yeah. But if you look in the description,
it says

that there's possible loosening
of an ACL screw.

I have no idea, madam.

-You have a counterclaim.
-[Desmond] Yes, Your Honor.

Your counter claim is for as*ault
and, actually, menacing.

You say, "Threatening the life
of myself and my son."

You actually mean menacing with a g*n.

Is that what you're talking about?

-Yes, Your Honor.
-[Judy] Okay.

I would like you to tell me
how you were assaulted

and what your injuries were.

I was assaulted by Mr. McNulty,
and I was defending myself against him,

walking through the gate
with my child right behind me.

She did make a comment under her breath.

"I guess anyone can just
show up unannounced."

I did not get in her face at that point.

Mr. McNulty pretty much got in my face,
started pushing me away.

There was no type
of trying to separate us.

That never happened...
trying to separate us.

We went straight into
fighting with each other.

I tried to defend myself because my son
was directly behind me.

I didn't want him getting hurt
trying to keep myself protected.

So I did everything I could
to make that happen.

Did you have any injuries
as a result of that?

Yes, Your Honor, I did.
I did receive a busted lip,

a couple of scratches on my neck

-and my arms.
-[Judy] Do you have any photographs?

-Yes, Your Honor.
-And do you have a police report?

I'd like to see it.

Here you go.

How did you get the busted lip?

The bust lip was from Mr. McNulty
when he did punch me in the face.

Do you have any photographs
of your injuries, sir?

Your Honor, I did not have any injuries
because I was simply...

Just a second.
I'm just asking you.

-[Shea] No, I do not, Your Honor.
-You do not.

[Judy] I do not have any injuries.

Yeah.
Your son wasn't injured, was he?

[Desmond] Thankfully, he was not.

I did my best to keep him behind me
as much as possible.

[Judy] Did you have to hire a lawyer, sir?

Did you hire a lawyer to defend you
in this proceeding,

this criminal proceeding...

-Yes.
-...where you pled guilty?

[Shea] Yes, I did have a lawyer.

Did you have a public defender
or did you hire a lawyer?

I had a personal lawyer.

[Judy] And how much did you pay him?

It was free. I pay a membership
for a g*n lawyer.

They protect you against g*n thefts.

It's a program for g*n advocates.

They hire a lawyer.
You get up to a $50,000 bail

if you go to jail and a firearm
or something like that is involved.

Who hit you?

Physically punched me...
Mr. McNulty.

All the scratches came from Ms. Warren.

[Judy] Are you still living
at your grandfather's house?

Yes, Your Honor, I am.

[Judy] Where does your mother live?

My mother lives in her house.

[Judy] You live there with your son?

My son comes and goes
between me and his mother.

How is your grandfather?

[Desmond]
My grandfather's doing pretty well.

He still goes to work every single day,
takes care of himself.

[Judy] What kind of work does he do?

[Desmond] He is a retired mechanic,

and now in his free time, he works
across the street at the cemetery.

He likes to keep it going.

[Judy] Got it. Okay.

Mr. McNulty, Ms. Warren...
your claim against the defendant

for money owed for lost wages,
hotel bills, and as*ault

is dismissed in its entirety.

I have photos of my injuries as well.

I don't care.

And I had to have a knee replacement
as a result

-of him throwing me...
-[Judy] Get me an expert.

You can tell that story to somebody else.

[Amanda]
I have pictures of the knee replacement.

[Judy] Did you hear what I said?

-Yes, ma'am.
-You get an expert here.

You don't get $10,000 because you say,
"I had to have a knee replacement."

How do I know that you had to have
a knee replacement?

You had a pre-existing injury,
and you precipitated this whole thing.

And you put your hands on him first.

You put your hands on him first.

What is someone supposed to do
when someone is being choked?

I don't know.

But if you put your hands on him first,
he's going to react to you.

He's going to react to you.

And he had no physical injury.

Zero, according to him.

So you put your hands on him first.

If he turns around
and shoves you down the stairs,

well, that's what happens
when you put your hands on somebody.

Somebody gets the short end of the stick
in an as*ault.

And just because you may have gotten
the short end of the stick

doesn't give you the right
to put your hands on him.

Aside from the fact that your big mouth
started this whole thing

between the two brothers anyway.

Judgment on the counterclaim for $5,000

for both the as*ault,
which I see pictures of,

and for menacing with a g*n.
We're done.

-Thank you, Your Honor.
-[Kevin] This court is adjourned.

I think it was very unfair.

And I think that my brother essentially
lied and did not tell the complete truth.

She kind of came up with the story
on her own.

And she saw the truth,
and that's all that matters.

Once he came down
and did not present himself as a threat,

the firearm was set down
and pointed to the side.

Yes, I did point it at him,

but that was when he was still
showing signs of aggression

and trying to force himself
back into the house.

It was then pointed at him to let him know

the door was locked
for his safety and ours.

And if he comes in
and continues to aggress towards me,

I would sh**t him in self-defense.

Looking down the barrel of a g*n,
having that g*n pointed at my son's face,

I definitely did not want him
to go through that.

I definitely didn't want
to go through that,

and I hope he can definitely forget that
and never remember this day at all.

If he was going to continue to harm me
and cause me to fear for my life,

yes, at that point in time,
it doesn't matter... related or not...

if you cause me to fear for my life,
yes, in self-defense I have that right

and I oblige by it.

Just glad we can put this behind us now.

He had him in a rear choke hold.

I mean, you don't walk up
behind somebody and choke them

just for giggles, you know what I mean?

It didn't happen how she said it did.

I still don't associate with them
or my mother, as well.

If anything, we're actually
gonna grow further apart.

And I'm perfectly okay with that,

and my life's gonna continue on
and business as usual.

It's time to go separate ways.

So, something so interesting was that,
in his papers,

you know, it said that he had pled guilty.

And there wasn't much discussion
about him hiring a lawyer, like you said,

whether he had a public defender...

I've never heard of a club to be a part of
to keep lawyers on retainer

solely for the purpose of firearm charges

and people with firearms
getting into trouble,

to get them out of it.

But apparently it must've worked,
because he got his g*n back the next day...

No, no, no. He got his g*n back
after he pled guilty,

which took five months.

Yeah. No. After he had pled guilty.

After he pled guilty.

-Very quickly was he returned his g*n.
-...his g*n.

Because he pled guilty to a misdemeanor.

-If he had had a felony...
-Oh, yeah.

-...he wouldn't have been able to...
-He wouldn't have gotten it back.

-...get his g*n back.
-But that's an interesting set-up

for g*n owners and g*n enthusiasts.

Yeah. I never heard of it before.

Me neither.

Somebody that you pay and...
probably pay him 50 bucks a month,

and it's a whole club
and everybody pays him.

And hopefully,
he doesn't get tapped too often.

-You find out something new every day.
-Every day.

A concierge g*n lawyer.

-[chuckles] Yeah.
-Interesting.

[narrator] Have you been cheated?

[theme music playing]