by KYW's Tony Hanson
A Philadelphia judge has found a pistol-packing parent of a "peewee" football player was justified in pulling his gun on a substitute coach who was beating him during a sidelines altercation during a game in the Burholme section of Northeast Philadelphia last October (see related story).
The defense conceded that defendant Wayne Durkotch pulled out a gun, but said it was in self-defense after he was beaten to the ground by the coach.
Defense attorney Brian Quinn:
"He is someone who has a permit to carry, he's licensed to carry. He only pulled the gun when he was in fear of dying. He was getting beat. He acted responsibly. Once he pulled the weapon, he put it away right away after the situation cleared. He waited for the police as he should have done."
But coach Jermaine Wilson, who was filling in as coach that day, testified that parents including Durkotch were hollering and cursing him and that Durkotch had pushed him, and that's when he started hitting Durkotch.
The judge has found Durkotch not guilty of all charges, but the judge said he was extremely disappointed to see all of this happen around children, who are five, six, and seven years old.
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