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By Admin A. HICKS

 

It's hard to say what's going to happen when Jimmy Ray Hunt tells his story to a jury of his peers, but if he's convicted it'll be a huge surprise to me.

 

Why? Well, because there won't be 12 people in all of York County who won't look at the facts of his case and say to themselves: "Hey, that could have been me and my daughter. And if it was me, I'd be inclined to do the same thing Jimmy Ray did."

 

It's the old "there, but for the grace of God, go I" theory at work. It carries no legal weight, of course, but it weighs a ton when it comes to human nature.

 

Put yourself in Jimmy Ray's shoes and tell me you wouldn't have responded just as he did. Or worse.

 

Jimmy Ray was sitting at home the day before Independence Day, last summer, when his phone rang. It was his 17-year-old daughter, Jamie, calling on her cell phone from Wal-Mart in Springettsbury Township.

 

She was frantic. She needed help. So she went to the one person in the world she felt she could count on for protection. That would be her father, of course.

 

According to Springettsbury Township police reports, Jamie was at Wal-Mart shopping for nail polish when she was approached by Armondo Hernandez, an illegal alien who happens to be 22 years her senior.

 

Hernandez is alleged to have propositioned Jamie Hunt, offering her $200 and $300 for sex and touching her repeatedly -- even after she clearly told him to leave her alone.

 

Hernandez also grabbed Jamie's face and tried to force her to kiss him, police said.

 

Enough was enough. Frightened, Jamie did the only thing she could think of that made any sense. She called Dad. And Dad responded just as most of us who are fathers would respond -- he told her to stay on the line with him until he could drive to the store to meet her. He'd be right there.

 

And he was. He arrived at the store around 8:40 p.m. Once there, he confronted Hernandez after seeing the man approach his daughter again. And he punched him one time, dead smack in the kisser.

 

The message was clear: Stay the hell away from my daughter, or else.

 

Anyway, Hernandez went down in a heap and Jimmy Ray detained him and called for the police.

 

Hernandez was arrested and charged with indecent assault and harassment. On Dec. 10, he pleaded guilty to both charges and was sentenced to time served -- about five months. Hernandez was immediately released to the custody of federal immigration officials, pending deportation.

 

As best anyone can tell -- the feds don't release any information about federal detainees -- Hernandez is still being held in York County Prison.

 

All's well that ends well, right? You'd think so. Except that this story doesn't end there.

 

That's because Jimmy Ray was arrested, as well, charged with simple assault and disorderly conduct for defending his daughter's honor and protecting her from possible harm.

 

Not only does he think he did the right thing, the same thing most fathers would do in that situation, but he thinks he did the legal thing, too.

 

He didn't punch and run. He didn't punch and hide. He punched Hernandez and held him there until the police could come to collect him. That's not the act of someone who believes he's acted illegally or without honor.

 

In fact, I have a hard time figuring out the difference between what Jimmy Ray did and what I would have done -- legally, too, I believe -- if I'd have been in the Wal-Mart that day to witness the assault on Jamie Hunt.

 

I would have felt compelled to intervene on Jamie's behalf. And if that meant punching Hernandez on the snoot, then that's what I would have done. And she's not even my daughter.

 

Had it been my daughter being propositioned and assaulted by a man twice her age, I'd have lowered the boom on the guy.

 

Let's just say Hernandez is very fortunate that all he got for his trouble was a split lip that required three stitches.

 

Would such action have been legal? Well, I think so. If Jamie had hauled off and punched the offending oaf herself, that would have been legit, wouldn't it? Of course. She certainly could have defended herself in that situation.

 

So why not her father? Or, for that matter, a total stranger who happened to pass by? It is legal, isn't it, to defend oneself or another person if they're being harassed or assaulted? It must be. How could it not be?

 

"I only used whatever force was necessary," Jimmy Ray said. "Once I stopped him, there was no more physical force between the two of us."

 

Hey, if you ask me, Jimmy Ray used amazing restraint under the circumstances. One punch and done. Then he called the cops.

 

Still, he's facing these silly charges.

 

Yes, the District Attorney's office has been accommodating. Yes, it tried to negotiate a deal with Jimmy Ray. Yes, it was willing to drop the assault charge and commit to 12 months' probation if Jimmy Ray pleaded guilty to the disorderly conduct charge.

 

But Jimmy Ray has refused to compromise. It's a matter of principle. "I told them no -- I'm not pleading guilty to anything. I'll take my chances with a jury."

 

And why not? Everyone seems to understand where Jimmy Ray was coming from when he acted as he did that day. Deputy Prosecutor Scott Rigdon said he understood what drove Jimmy Ray to punch Hernandez. "I'm not saying I would have acted in a different manner ..." Rigdon said. "I do sympathize."

 

Darn right.

 

According to the court transcript, York County Common Pleas Judge John Kennedy seemed understanding, too, at Jimmy Ray's pretrial conference. "I'm not saying what he did was right ..." Kennedy said, but he seemed empathetic.

 

Could anyone see this case any differently? How could anyone have known with any certainty that an attempted assault on Jamie, a grab of the face or arm, might not have turned violent if not firmly resisted? Easy. They couldn't.

 

I can tell you this much. If I were on Jimmy Ray's jury, there's no way I could vote to convict him. Not in a million years.

 

In fact, I'd be mighty appreciative if Jimmy Ray had defended my daughter in similar circumstances with the same vigor he used to defend his own daughter.

 

A punch in the chops isn't the most pleasant thing in the world, I'll grant you. Delivered firmly, however, and with proper aim, it sends an important message to someone who just won't take "no" for an answer.

 

Hernandez ignored Jamie's repeated pleas to leave her alone.

 

So Jimmy Ray sent a message.

 

Case closed.

 

 

 

I would have done the same thing.... possibly even worse

why even arrest someone for that....amazingly idiotic.

I'd a jammed a parking cone up his ass. But thats just me.

this pales in comparison to what John Matrix did for his daughter in the movie commando. He's a true american hero.

 

By the way, I wouldn't convict that guy.