Florida law backs shooter in road rage case: "When an angry motorist came rushing up to the window of his pickup truck Wednesday, Cleveland Murdock had a gun and Florida law to back him. The Broward Sheriff's Office said Thursday their case is closed in the road rage incident that left Patrick Lavoie, 33, dead in the middle of a residential street. Murdock acted in self-defense by shooting in the heart the man who approached him, investigators determined. Witnesses told investigators Lavoie jumped out of the Honda Civic his girlfriend was driving, upset that Murdock seemed to be tailgating the couple. Lavoie angrily charged toward Murdock's Toyota Tacoma and tried to open the door to grab him, witnesses told police. Murdock, 38, fatally shot the glass worker, who was holding only a cigarette lighter in his hand. Investigators detained Murdock for hours, while they compared his story about fearing for his life to eyewitness accounts. Then they told him he was free to go."


Pa.: 2 Md. men held for trial in fatal home ambush: "Two Maryland men have been ordered to stand trial for a home-invasion that sparked a gun battle that left a homeowner wounded and an intruder dead. Magisterial District Judge John Murray ordered 23-year-old Niochie Lawson, of Laurel, Md. and 20-year-old Jakal Stone, of Price George’s County, to stand trial on charges including robbery and conspiracy. Prosecutors say Lawson and Stone sought treatment for gunshot wounds following the June 9 ambush, in which one gunman was killed. Police say a bullet taken from Lawson’s leg at a hospital matched those fired by Upper Gwynedd homeowner Jermaine Edwards. Investigators say the slain gunman’s identification was in the getaway vehicle. Edwards was shot in the chest and both legs in the attack. Prosecutors say he fired in self-defense and won’t face charges. Lawson and Stone are being held without bail." [See also here]


W.Va.: Jury acquits man of 2008 slaying: "A Lincoln County jury decided Wednesday that a Sias man charged with shooting and killing his nephew and attempting to kill another man is not guilty. A grand jury indicted Stephen Willis, 59, in January 2009, charging him with shooting his nephew, Stephen Linville, 35, twice in the back with a .38-caliber revolver the year before, according to court documents. According to Willis' Lawyer, Danny Corey, Willis was exercising on the road next to his home when Linville and Wade pulled up next to him in a truck. Linville got out of the truck and started choking his uncle from behind. Willis was still being choked when he managed to turn around and face Linville, pull out the gun from the pocket of his jeans, and fire twice in Linville's lower back, eventually killing him"


AL: Case dismissed against son in father's death: "A Jefferson County Criminal Court judge dismissed a case Wednesday against a man accused of murdering his father. Funderburg said his client told authorities his father tried to run him over in a Kubota all-terrain vehicle as he stood behind his truck on an access road to the family’s estate. Funderburg also said Carleton told authorities his father threatened to kill him. The suspect told authorities he only shot his father after he started to reach for a .22 caliber rifle hanging on a back gun rack of the ATV.