Byline: Heather MacDonald Staff Writer
MISSION HILLS - Two days after his shooting was captured by a TV news crew outside the Van Nuys Courthouse, attorney Gerald Curry walked out of the hospital Sunday and declared himself ``the luckiest man in the world.''
Curry, 53, of Simi Valley was shot in the neck and right arm and on the left side of his torso in a Friday morning attack captured by TV news crews covering the Robert Blake murder trial. The shooting was broadcast nationwide, turning the media spotlight on the mild-mannered
probate attorney.
``I am absolutely the luckiest man in the world,'' Curry said, as a dozen news cameras captured images of his bruised face and heavily bandaged arm as he left Providence Holy Cross Medical Center.
``I'm just a regular guy, not used to all this attention,'' Curry said, after declining offers from CBS, NBC and ABC to appear on their morning shows. ``I'm astounded by all this attention. This is my 15 minutes, which will be over shortly, I expect.''
The accused assailant, William Strier, 64, of Thousand Oaks is being held on $1 million bail on suspicion of attempted murder. After the shooting, Strier was wrestled to the ground by a Los Angeles sheriff's reserve officer who was leaving the courthouse.
Curry underwent surgery Saturday on his right arm, where a .22-caliber bullet ripped through muscles and tendons. Another bullet remains lodged in his neck, a half-inch from a major artery. Doctors decided it would be too risky to remove it, according to Curry.
Although Curry may have suffered severe nerve damage in his right hand, he said his prognosis is good, and the probate attorney expects to be back at his Canoga Park office on Tuesday.
``I can always dictate into my Dictaphone, even if I can't write or type,'' said the right-handed Curry.
Curry, wearing a striped cotton shirt and blue jeans, recounted a harrowing experience that began about 10:30 a.m. Friday as he headed to a court hearing where he was to represent the William Strier Special Needs Trust.
The trust was started after Strier was injured in an accident and received a $98,000 settlement, Curry said.
According to court records, the trustee, Evelyn Murphy, was asking permission to resign after Strier threatened to kill her because she would not authorize payments for surgeries Strier insisted he needed. Strier's sister, Ethel Celnik, was to replace Murphy.
``Other than the fact that I got shot, it was a purely routine court appearance,'' Curry said.
Curry - holding a yellow legal pad covered with notes he wrote left- handed - said Strier, whom he had never met before, walked up to him and asked ``Are you Mr. Curry?'' before opening fire with a revolver.
``I said, Yes, who are you?, and heard a pop, and felt blood spatter on my face,'' Curry said. ``That's when I knew I had been shot.''
After falling to the ground, Curry said he knew he had two choices: to run from the gunman in a zigzag pattern or take refuge behind a tree.
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11-03-2008, 12:38
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