Followup NC: New Trial for Driver who Shot Tire in Self Defense

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — An appeals court on Tuesday threw out a former paratrooper's conviction for shooting another driver's tire on a North Carolina highway, ruling his self-defense rights weren't properly explained to jurors.


A three-judge panel of the North Carolina Court of Appeals ruled unanimously to order a new trial for Charles Ayers, who had been convicted of firing into an occupied vehicle and damaging property.


The appeals court found that the trial judge should have instructed jurors that Ayers had a right to defend himself during the 2015 traffic confrontation. The 50-year-old Army veteran argued he feared for his safety after another driver tailgated him and appeared to be trying to force him off the road; the other driver told investigators Ayers was blocking him from passing.

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