CA: Black Felon Shoots Man in Self Defense, Is Freed

On 2 July, at about 9:40 a.m., Mark Anthony Nelson Jr. shot an apparent armed robber as he exited the Patriot gas station where Nelson worked as a clerk. It would seem to be a clear justified shooting. 

Nelson did lied to police, probably because he is a convicted felon. He was convicted in 2011 of shooting a woman who rammed his vehicle. 

He denied shooting the robbery suspect, Jeffrey Allen Kirwan. He denied having a firearm that was found hidden in the store. The firearm had been reported stolen. Nelson had a bullet in his pocket. 

He was arrested on 2 July. From kymkemp.com:

Nelson Jr. was arrested and booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility on charges of murder (PC 187(a)), possession of stolen property (PC 496(a)) and convicted felon in possession of a firearm (PC 29800(a)). He is being held without bail pending arraignment.

The community started speaking out in defense of Nelson. He had a great reputation. An attorney agreed to represent Nelson pro-bono. On 7 July, 2020, Nelson gave a different statement to investigators. He is reported to have admitted shooting and killing Kirwan, but said it was self defense.

His second statement was consistent with the physical evidence and witness statements. From nothcoastjournal.com:

Mark Anthony Nelson Jr. — a 39-year-old gas station clerk from Eureka — has had quite a week.

A man came to rob the gas station where he worked.

He shot and killed that man, prompting his arrest on suspicion of murder, possessing stolen property and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. He was booked into Humboldt County Correctional facility without bail, and quarantined there for five days.

Then yesterday, in a stunning reversal, the Humboldt County District Attorney’s decided no charges would be filed in the case. Nelson walked free, and joined his partner Cynthia Shelton and their 14-year-old daughter for a quiet night at home.

Some claimed that "systemic racism" exists such that a white man wouldn't have gone to jail, in the comments at kymkemp.com:

I have to ask the question. If this man was white (like me) would he be arrested?

Other commenters contest the conjecture, saying that many white men are arrested in similar circumstances.

The discussion about the case shows the ability of the far left to control the narrative is failing in the face of facts and people's experience.

One comment claims there are numerous studies that show how poor people and black people are treated differently than other people in the criminal justice system.

They do not address the problem of systemic bias in academia in favor of leftist narratives.


A reasonable question, given the facts of the case, and the current climate:

Would a white man in the same circumstances been treated as well as Mark Anthony Young?

Convicted felons still have the right to self-defense. A clear, easily followed mechanism should be in place so that they can legitimately regain there Second Amendment rights, as protected by the Constitution.

Mark Anthony Young has gained the trust of the local community.

Perhaps prosecutors are starting to reconsider the common procedure of charging felons with illegal possession of firearms, even when they have been involved in justified self defense shootings.

It should, at least, be a mitigating factor.

©2020 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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