Gun-toting attorney foils burglary

By Jeanne Houck, Post staff reporter

http://www.kypost.com

Tom Beiting was headed downstairs to his law office one morning this week from the second-floor apartment in the remodeled Newport mansion he owns when he was startled by the sound of the back door opening.

Beiting turned to see a man he did not know silhouetted in the doorway.

But Beiting recognized the case of Bud Light the man was holding because it was the same case of beer Beiting had bought two weeks ago for a party and stowed in his refrigerator.

''I recognized my color, portable TV next to the door, also,'' Beiting said.

Beiting said the man, later identified as Daniel Young Jackson of Louisville, dropped the beer and reached for his pocket, so Beiting drew a 9mm semi-automatic pistol he'd clipped onto his belt.

''I couldn't think of anything else to say but, 'You're under arrest,' '' Beiting recalled. ''He immediately wet his pants.''

Telling Jackson - who turned out to be unarmed - he was under arrest leapt more naturally to Beiting's lips than it would to most people.

Beiting spent 15 years in police work.

He was chief of Dayton police from 1970 to 1977 and was a criminal investigator for the U.S. Army and an intelligence officer for the U.S. Defense Department.

But Beiting has been practicing law since 1985 and said his confrontation with Jackson about 6:45 a.m. Tuesday convinced him he made a good career move.

''I was scared to death,'' Beiting said. ''It's been 19 years since my last felony arrest, and it can be 19 more before my next one.''

After Beiting pulled his gun - for which he says he has a state permit to conceal and carry - he ordered Jackson to sit in a chair with hands clasped atop his head.

Beiting had Jackson hold the pose until Newport Sgt. Mark Crank arrived.

Crank charged Jackson with burglary. If convicted, Jackson faces five to 10 years in state prison. Jackson has pleaded innocent.

Police discovered the 37-year-old Jackson, who described himself as an unemployed riverboat deckhand, was wanted on charges of alco hol intoxication in McCracken and Daviess counties.

Campbell District Court records show Jackson has convictions dating back to 1996 in Jefferson County for resisting arrest, alcohol intoxication, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Beiting said Jackson has a record of assault, theft and drug charges in Ohio and Florida, which is one reason Beiting is happy he was carrying his gun.

''He's a convicted felon with police assaults on his record, as well as resisting arrest,'' Beiting said.

Beiting said Jackson apparently got into the building, which includes two apartments in addition to Beiting's, through an unlocked back door.

After Jackson's arrest, Beiting said he found two empty, cold beer cans on the floor of his living room - where he kept his television - leading the lawyer to believe Jackson tossed back a couple cans while Beiting slept in an adjacent bedroom.

Jackson is in the Campbell County Jail and has been assigned a public defender.

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