Walter In Denver has a post about a Denver DA prosecuting a bar owner for a self defense shooting.
Details are scant, but from this news story & this one it appears that a man named Stepp tried to enter (or did enter) the bar after it was closed. Christou (the bar owner) shot Stepp in the abdomen & called the cops. Now Stepp is in the hospital awaiting burglary charges & Christou was jailed under first degree assault charges.
Walter points to this article by David Harsanyi taking a slighttly closer look at some of the laws involved. The gist is that Colorado's "Make My Day" law only applies to homes, not businesses.
So if things are as they appear a Denver DA decided to prosecute a business owner for a self defense shooting. & they wonder why they have a crime problem. It would not surprise me if the first degree assault charge carries a longer sentence than the attempted burglarly charge.
& Walter also provides contact info for the Denver DA including the main phone number, which is 720-913-9000.
I'll try to stay on top of this, but is anyone has any more info please feel free to chime in.
Posted by Publicola at January 22, 2006 03:39 PM | TrackBack