Stand Your Ground rule gets Michelle Dinkins-Penland acquitted for shooting death of husband
‘Stand your ground’ or excessive force in stopping a raging PTSD victim? take your pick.’
‘… I wonder what the reaction would have been if the cops were on the scene and applied deadly force against an unarmed but out of control member of the household’ ?
Certainly makes a compelling case for us all owning firearms to protect ourselves from ALL bullies.
Michelle Dinkins-Penland, 44, fatally shot her husband of one year, Mark Penland
Cops dispatched for domestic disturbance involving battery, while deputies were en route, call was upgraded to a shooting
Penland, 53, was beating his stepson, 14, at the boy’s birthday party
Michelle shot him with her .38 when he wouldn’t letup
DA – “Whether applying stand your ground or justifiable use of deadly force law, under the facts of this case, Dinkins-Penland was legally allowed to use deadly force based on a reasonable fear that her life, her mother’s life and certainly her son’s life were in danger”
Mark Penland, 53, died at a local hospital in Marion County, Fla. Mark’s wife, Michelle Dinkins-Penland, 44, shot her husband, according to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.
A call about domestic disturbance involving battery had initially dispatched deputies to the home on the faithful night, but while deputies were en route, the call was upgraded to a shooting.
The shooting took place at their residence, 8311 Southeast 16th Terrace, Ocala. Mark was transported to Ocala Regional Medical Center, where he later died. Detectives stated that the couple were arguing and then shots were fired, noting that Michelle showed signs of bruising that would suggest a physical fight had taken place between the two.
Mark and his wife, Michelle Dinkins-Penland on facebook
However, during the trial, prosecutors determined that the fatal shooting of 53-year-old Mark Penland during a disturbance at the family’d Ocala residence was justified, prosecutors have determined. During the trial
The State Attorney’s Office memorandum states that his wife, Michelle Dinkins-Penland, had a right to protect her family and therefore no charges would be filed against her.
“Whether applying stand your ground or justifiable use of deadly force law, under the facts of this case, Dinkins-Penland was legally allowed to use deadly force based on a reasonable fear that her life, her mother’s life and certainly her son’s life were in danger,” according to the five-page document written by Assistant State Attorney Amy Berndt.
According to Berndt’s memo, on March 22, Dinkins-Penland allowed her son to invite a friend at their Ocala residence to celebrate her son’s 14th birthday. Other family members were also invited.
Penland, who had been married to Dinkins-Penland for a little more than a year, was upset about something and went outside to grill chicken for himself. Penland refused to go inside to sing happy birthday to his stepson. The teenage boy went outside and guests inside heard a “thump” and the boy’s friend told them they were fighting. Dinkins-Penland and her mother rushed outside and saw Penland had pinned the teen to the door and was beating him, the memo states.
Dinkins-Penland and her mother got between Penland and the child, but Penland grabbed his mother-in-law’s arm and threw her on the ground. He hit his wife in the eye, and Dinkins-Penland and her mother yelled at him to stop hitting the boy.
Penland refused, telling them, “No, I’m going to kill him,” the memo states. Dinkins-Penland, fearing he would kill her son, got her .38-caliber revolver and fired two shots at her husband. Mark Penland was taken to Ocala Regional Medical Center, where he died.
Michelle Dinkins-Penland, shot her husband and got off on ‘Stand-Your-Ground’ rule
Hours after his death, Jay Penland, the brother of the dead man, told a Star-Banner reporter at the home that Mark had retired from the U.S. Air Force after 20 years of service.
He said his brother was born in Pennsylvania, lived in New York until 1972 and later moved to Florida.
Mark Penland was self-employed, with a lawn maintenance company, and was a loving father to his children, three girls and a boy, ranging in from age 18 to 25, from a previous relationship. Jay Penland said his brother had been a Boy Scout, was active in the Civil Air Patrol and got straight A’s in school. When Mark Penland moved to Florida, he fixed up properties and started his lawn maintenance business.
Witnesses told detectives Mark Penland had been beating the boy and the shooting was self-defense. They also said Penland suffered from post traumatic stress disorder from his time in the military and had taken various medications to treat the condition. He also drank daily, they said, which made him violent.
A month before the shooting, Mark Penland’s mother unsuccessfully tried to have him commit for psychiatric evaluation under the Baker Act. Family members said the boy was once a nice and happy child who became quiet and withdrawn after Penland moved into the home and began abusing him.
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