Murder Client Found Not Guilty on All Counts 9/26/2022
Sep 26, 2022OUTCOME: Not Guile
My client was charged with first degree murder and aggravated discharge of a weapon (multiple counts) after he shot and killed his wife's ex-boyfriend. The evidence proved that prior to the shooting t ... he decedent had physically abused his ex-girlfriend, been charged with Domestic Battery and two separate counts of bail bond violation (for having contact with her). He also had the police called on him 26 times in the recent past. He had threatened to kill my client on multiple occasions, including the day of the shooting. He was pounding on the windows of his wife's residence and was yelling he would kill everyone in the house. My client put on his weapon, exited the front door, shot 7 times at the decedent and struck him twice. The decedent's femoral artery was severed and he ran a short distance to where he died. We tried the case and presented a self-defense theory to the court. There were two self-defense theories we presented. The first is called defense of a dwelling. The second is defense of a person. Defense of a dwelling allows a person to use deadly force if they believe the intruder will attack another person inside the dwelling. To prove that theory the intruder must be attempting entry in a violent manner. However, in that theory of self-defense the shooter does not have to believe he or another inside will be greatly harmed or killed. In contrast, the theory of self-defense of a person the shooter would have to believe that he or another would suffer serious physical harm or death. The judge carefully reviewed the evidence and found the defendant not guilty of all counts.