Corinth: Woman shot in random, unprovoked attack

[seamusTX]

Corinth (Denton County) -- Yesterday, around 11 a.m., a man shot a woman who was walking with her children in a park in Corinth for no apparent reason. He was arrested later in the day.

The woman was shot in the face. She is expected to recover.

These stories give conflicting accounts, which is usual for breaking news:

http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/w ... 7db81.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.dentonrc.com/sharedcontent/d ... b7601.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent ... 6d850.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://cbs11tv.com/local/Corinth.park.s ... 55580.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I find this kind of thing scary, because it is very difficult or impossible to see coming.

No one looks good in a mug shot, but this guy does not resemble Mister Rogers.

- Jim

[wilder]

This happened two blocks from my office. I'd like to hope there was more to the story, but it's scary either way.

[Beiruty]

More info about the kookoo who wants fame and "justice" for speeders:
http://www.star-telegram.com/news/story/1451383.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[seamusTX]

Cuckoo is right. Hopefully it will be easy to keep him locked up for a couple of decades.

- Jim

[Keith B]

They have a suspect in the shooting. The guy is apparently Looney Tunes.

-------------------------------------------------

From WFAA
http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/w ... fd581.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Corinth park shooting suspect inspired by 'Frankenstein'

08:43 AM CDT on Wednesday, June 24, 2009

By DONNA FIELDER / Denton Record-Chronicle

DENTON — William Alexander “Bill” Gilmore compared himself to Frankenstein’s monster Tuesday afternoon as he sat in a cell at the Denton County Jail.

“I got my inspiration from Frankenstein,” he said. “The doctor creates the monster and drives him to desperation. These people have driven me crazy. I don’t know the difference between right and wrong. Now I’m going to let them control the outcome of all the other innocents.”

Gilmore, 50, was arrested Monday afternoon in connection with the shooting of a woman he didn’t know in a Corinth park. Kimberly Boggs, 36, had two children with her at the time and was holding one, an infant, when she was shot in the face. The baby and a four-year-old boy were not injured.

Boggs was listed in fair condition at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas Tuesday, and Gilmore was being held on an attempted murder charge in lieu of $750,000 bail.

In the jailhouse interview, Gilmore would not admit he shot the woman or was even at the park. However, he says a tape he gave police will explain what happened, and he talks about a speeding ticket he received two years ago that was the beginning of the reason he is in jail.

“Yesterday was the second anniversary of that speeding case,” Gilmore said, trying to push his long, yellow-gray hair behind his ears with cuffed hands. “You have to think out of the box to get attention.”

While Corinth police were still investigating the shooting, Gilmore showed up at the police department. According to an affidavit filed to obtain his arrest, he told Corinth Lt. Lance Stacy that he wanted to turn himself in for possessing an unlicensed weapon that was in a backpack in his car. He said he would then plead not guilty to possessing the weapon.

“Lieutenant Stacy asked defendant the significance of the gun and defendant replied ‘she didn’t tell you’ and then stated again that he was going to plead not guilty, and that it was about the incident at the park,” according to the affidavit.

He gave the lieutenant a cassette that he said would explain everything. According to the affidavit, Gilmore speaks on part of the tape about a “stranger-on-stranger murder” and that “If you are listening to the tape, you must be an investigator or DA, and about the … corrupt public officials and that the killing will continue until such time that we start policing ourselves and other officials.”

While talking to the lieutenant, Gilmore made reference to the incident in the park, according to the affidavit, and that information had not been released to the public. After detaining him and obtaining search warrants, police searched the car, a truck and a vacant house Gilmore had been squatting in. They found 700 rounds of ammunition as well as several guns.

Stacy said Tuesday that tests had not been completed to determine whether any of the guns were the weapon used in the shooting.

“It’s troubling,” Stacy said. “People will be afraid to go to a park because someone they don’t even know might shoot them.”

According to the affidavit, Boggs, her husband and the children were at the park and had noticed a man sitting on a bench across the park. The little boy was riding a toy car and it was not functioning correctly.

The man walked up and suggested the toy needed a fresh battery, the woman told police. Her husband returned home for a fresh battery.

Then the man walked up to her, said nothing and then shot her with a handgun.

The woman ran to a nearby house for help, and the neighbor came back with her to help with the children until police and paramedics arrived. The suspect was gone when the women returned.

“It’s very complicated,” Gilmore said in the jailhouse interview. “Two years ago I pleaded not guilty in a Class C misdemeanor. It was a ticket for speeding in a school crossing zone. Texas law says nothing about that, and it is illegal for a city to make a law that is against state law. I have tried to file complaints on about a hundred public officials for everything from Class C misdemeanors to felonies, and they won’t take them.”

His case was ultimately dismissed, he said. But he believes that officials are “organized criminals” who are “racketeering” citizens every day by charging them with what he considers a bogus crime.

Gilmore said he was a dental technician and then began contracting with dentists for his services making crowns and bridges. He decided to live on his savings and write. After the ticket, he said, he became so obsessed that he stopped working and now is homeless.

“It ain’t just me,” he said. “These people are massive organized criminals. Somebody’s got to take a risk to bring it to light. I’m doing what they’re doing except in a context that will bring it to light.

“I know it’s horrible,” Gilmore said. “But at the same time, I don’t think it’s wrong. I don’t think it is sociopathic. I’m not admitting that I shot anybody or that I was at the park. All I did was hand over an unlicensed weapon. I’m just telling them that they’re in control of a bunch of potential assassins.”

[seamusTX]

“It’s troubling,” Stacy said. “People will be afraid to go to a park because someone they don’t even know might shoot them.”

Of course, that never happened before; and now that this guy is locked up, it will never happen again.

Does anyone know what Corinth is like, economically and socially?

- Jim

[Beiruty]

Start here: http://www.corinthedc.com/home/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I have a close friend living there. It seems an Okay small city.

[joe817]

“It’s troubling,” Stacy said. “People will be afraid to go to a park because someone they don’t even know might shoot them.”

Of course, that never happened before; and now that this guy is locked up, it will never happen again.
Does anyone know what Corinth is like, economically and socially?
- Jim

My daughter lives in Lake Dallas, which borders Corinth on the south. Corinth is a quiet bedroom community south of Denton about 5 miles. It's a rapidly developing community of little old town charm with the future shock characteristics of an exploding population of people and construction moving into the little city. There's no industry to speak of except farming. It's been a rural community until the last 10 or 15 years, when the building boom started.

She told me about the shooting 2 days ago, and told me it happened about 1 mile from where they live. Unbelievable.

[seamusTX]

I was wondering if Corinth had a "homeless problem." I could easily see this kind of thing happening in Houston, Dallas, Austin, etc.

It just goes to show, it can happen anywhere.

[joe817]

It's right on I-35E so I would imagine they get their fair share.

[C-dub]

This is embarrassing, but here goes. Would someone please remind me what an "unlicensed weapon" is?

[seamusTX]

The guy is completely nuts. I will be surprised if he is not found to be psychotic (not necessarily not guilty by reason of insanity).

He is wrong about cities not being able to set speed limits. The state Transportation Code allows them to do so.

He probably thinks that Texas has registration or handgun ownership licenses -- which many states have.

This is an extreme example of someone who has an idiosyncratic concept of the law. You see the same thing with people who think that the income tax is unconstitutional, the Constitution or various amendments were not really ratified, or Texas is not really a state.

- Jim

[joe817]

That's a friend of mine's sister-in-law - trying to find out how she's doing.

Andy, please keep us posted. She is in my prayers.

[bryang]

That's a friend of mine's sister-in-law - trying to find out how she's doing.

Andy, please keep us posted. She is in my prayers.

Definitely keep us posted. She will be in my prayers, also.

-geo