Last words revealed of IRS agent accidentally shot in 2023 in Phoenix
The trial of the alleged shooter is about to begin
PHOENIX (AZFamily) — The trial is about to begin a year and a half after a federal IRS agent was shot dead allegedly at the hands of a fellow agent at a training exercise.
The agent, Larry Edward Brown, Jr., was charged with involuntary manslaughter.
Now we’ve learned what exactly the government and the defense are going to say to argue their case, including the victim’s dying last words.
“Larry’s an effing idiot.”
Those are the words court records show were special agent Patrick Bauer’s last before he died after reportedly being shot by Brown after training at a federal gun range on prison grounds in Phoenix.
“It is identifying the person who discharged the weapon. We know who shot the victim in the case, but it’s also giving an opinion about that person’s behavior,” said Russ Richelsoph, a criminal defense attorney unaffiliated with the case.
Often, hearsay like that is not allowed during trial, but the judge in this case ruled it admissible in what’s considered an “excited utterance” exception.
Richelsoph explained what that meant.
“The idea behind the excited utterance is something that somebody says in the heat of the moment as something is happening, is considered more reliable than something that somebody is reporting upon reflection,” said Richelsoph.
The tragedy happened in August 2023.
The two IRS criminal investigations agents were at a federal firearm range for pistol qualifications and training. The two were alone in a small building on the gun range known as “the tower,” where instructors observed training.
That’s when prosecutors said Brown was reckless and shot Bauer once in the torso.
Court documents said when Brown went to the hospital, he kept repeating, “I’m a use of force instructor - I should know better.”
But now court records show the judge will allow the defense to present their expert testimony that Agent Bauer would have likely survived if the response time from first responders wasn’t delayed and if the gun range had an emergency action plan.
Richelsoph said that aspect would typically work for a lesser sentence but not necessarily the conviction.
“It could be argued as mitigation, but generally that’s not allowed to prove somebody is not guilty,” Richelsoph said.
Richelsoph said this case is something you’d see in law school with unusual complications where nobody truly knows what happened inside that tower.
Brown’s involuntary manslaughter trial starts on Feb. 5.
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