XPost: rec.arts.movies.current-films, can.politics, alt.politics.liberalism   
   XPost: alt.guns   
   From: David@block.net   
      
   On 9/22/2013 3:03 PM, Rick Lopez wrote:   
   > In the tale of two neighbors from the wealthy community of   
   > Encinitas in San Diego, Calif., with a tumultuous relationship   
   > that ended with one's death, their friends and loved ones   
   > continue struggling to make sense of the tragedy.   
   >   
   > John Upton, 56, was a well-known do-gooder and filmmaker who   
   > devoted his life to helping children and the elderly.   
   >   
   > "I really knew from a very, very young age that you really can   
   > make a difference because I saw my dad do it," Elizabeth Upton,   
   > John Upton's daughter, told ABC News' "20/20."   
   >   
   > The other neighbor, Michael Vilkin, 61, was an intellectual   
   > inventor who emigrated from the former Soviet state of Georgia   
   > for the American dream.   
   >   
   > "You come home tired and exhausted from work," Vilkin's wife,   
   > Tamara Vilkin, told "20/20," "And there's a man, who ... could   
   > really lift your mood."   
   >   
   > On March 28, 2013, San Diego County sheriff's deputies responded   
   > to Vilkin's 911 phone call saying he killed his neighbor. Upon   
   > arriving to Vilkin's property, they found Upton lying on the   
   > ground, and he was later declared dead at the scene.   
   >   
   > Vilkin was charged with premeditated murder and assault with a   
   > deadly weapon. He faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted,   
   > although he's confident that won't be the case.   
   >   
   > "That cannot happen, because I did not assault him. He assaulted   
   > me," Vilkin said in a jailhouse interview with ABC News   
   > affiliate KGTV. "So how come that I will be found guilty? That   
   > is not possible."   
   >   
   > According to other neighbors and Vilkin's wife, a narrow strip   
   > of land in front of Upton's front door on Vilkin's property,   
   > which Vilkin bought for his wife Tamara as a gift, was a point   
   > of contention between Upton and Vilkin.   
   >   
   > "That guy John was obsessed about privacy, and he did not want   
   > me to cut the bushes or trees there for more than a year,"   
   > Vilkin said.   
   >   
   > Tamara Vilkin explained her husband's work on their land.   
   >   
   > "In order to do this survey, he needed to cut some bushes," she   
   > said, "so he called the police to make sure that everything will   
   > go smoothly."   
   >   
   > Upton's girlfriend, Evelyn Zeller, told "20/20" that Upton never   
   > complained about his neighbor.   
   >   
   > "He used to say many times, 'Wow, I admire his work ethic,'" she   
   > said.   
   >   
   > Zeller said she and Upton were peaceful, and loved Buddhas,   
   > serenity and inspiration.   
   >   
   > Upton not only inspired his children and girlfriend, but also   
   > many others through his personal mission of rescuing Romanian   
   > orphans. ABC News' "20/20" even featured Upton's mission in an   
   > episode during the 1990s.   
   >   
   > However, other neighbors told "20/20" off camera that Upton   
   > would taunt Vilkin from his balcony regularly to the point that   
   > it changed Vilkin.   
   >   
   > "He just said that: He wanted to have a gun," Tamara Vilkin   
   > recalled of Vilkin's decision to buy a .44 magnum before Vilkin   
   > and Upton's final confrontation.   
   >   
   > In Zeller's version of events, Upton went over to Vilkin's   
   > property to declare a truce. She said the couple was preparing   
   > to move away the very next day.   
   >   
   > "We had found our dream home," Zeller said. "'We're outta here,'   
   > that's what he went out to say."   
   >   
   > Outside, Vilkin admitted he was hiding behind a bush with a gun   
   > lodged in his waistband. As Upton approached, he met his fate.   
   >   
   > "I called for John," Zeller said. "I did not get a response ...   
   > so I look up the path and I see John lying on the path."   
   >   
   > Zeller said she heard Vilkin say, "Don't get any [expletive]   
   > closer," and alleged that he then pointed the gun at her.   
   >   
   > Vilkin said Upton threatened him first, with a gun.   
   >   
   > "He walked to me, accusing, f-word, f-word, f-word, and pulled   
   > the gun," Vilkin told KGTV from jail. "I pulled out my gun, and   
   > I was ready for it, and I shot him. It was self-defense."   
   >   
   > According to investigators, Upton may have pulled out a cell   
   > phone, but there was no other gun found at the scene.   
      
   So your "sneak attack" was "making a phone call"?   
      
   --- SoupGate-DOS v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)