Teenager shot 3 times in Birmingham Shooting that killed a man acted in self -defense, says the lawyer

An 18 -year -old accused in a deadly shooting in Birmingham who also left the young suspect wounded seriously should not be accused of murder, said his lawyer.

David Hunter is accused In the death of February 3, Christon Deandre Thorn, 42.

The exchange of shooting between the two men occurred at 4:35 pm that Monday in the 1500 52nd Street block in Ensley in the neighborhood of Central Park. Thorn was in a discussion with his girlfriend out of a house where people were hanging out.

Prosecutors argue that Hunter intensified the situation when he went out with a gun to face Thorn.

Hunter’s lawyer, however, said the shooting may have been self -defense.

Hunter, who is in a wheelchair and uses a Honda after receiving a shot three times during the confrontation, appeared before the Jefferson County District Judge, William Bell, Thursday to listen to the evidence against him.

Hunter was discharged from the UAB hospital a week after the shooting and was recorded in the Jefferson County prison, where he remains retained.

Bell, after listening to the testimony, limited the case to a large jury for consideration of accusation about the position of murder.

The deputy district prosecutor of Jefferson County, Charissa Henrich, is processing the case. Hunter is represented by the Chief of Malcolm of the Public Defender’s Office of the Jefferson County.

Homicide of Birmingham Det. Gabriel Lacally was the lonely witness at Thursday’s audience.

Lacally said Espina was found in the front courtyard of a house with a gunshot wound in the chest. The bullet, said the detective, had left the victim’s back, and Thorn was declared dead on the scene at 4:53 pm

The detective said the police recovered the roofs of two weapons: a 9 mm caliber and a 40 -weapon caliber. One of the weapons was on the floor next to Thorn.

He said lactally, when he arrived on the scene, he located two witnesses: Adrian Thorn, the victim’s sister and Stephanie Johnson, the victim’s girlfriend.

Adrian Thorn told the researchers that he was in the area and decided to go to the house to see his brother, who knew he was there that day.

There are two houses next to each other, one that is vacant and the other belonging to Hunter’s grandmother.

When Adrian Thorn arrived, his brother was sitting on the porch of the vacancy and he and his girlfriend were in a verbal altercation.

“Em. Thorn was talking to his brother, trying to calm things,” Lacally said. “She said he noticed that Mr. Hunter left the house holding a firearm.”

Hunter, said Adrian Thorn, told Thorn: “What is that shit you were saying? You are not the only one with a gun. “

Adrian Thorn, said the detective, got between the two men to try to reduce the situation, and “the next thing he knows is that he heard shots. She wasn’t sure who shot the first shot. “

The detective said Hunter and Thorn were known, and that hunter even referred to Thorn as his uncle, although the two were not related to the blood.

Adrian Thorn said his brother had a gun at the waist. She said she didn’t see the initial shooting.

“He said that everything happened so fast that he could see his brother shooting, but it seemed that he was shooting to the ground,” Lacally said. “I could see dirt and things to come.”

Johnson, said Lacrally, told police that she and Thorn had been arguing. She said Thorn told her that she was going to call her sister to fight for her, but then learned that the call had never been made and that Adrian Thorn simply appeared there.

Johnson said he was talking to Adrian Thorn when Hunter came out and said: “You are not going to throw a weapon on a woman,” the detective testified.

No woman said Thorn had taken a weapon at that time.

Johnson said he didn’t see the shooting either, but he heard shots and saw her boyfriend fall to the ground. Hunter ran into the courtyard of another neighbor.

“She was not sure who shot the first shot too,” Lacally testified.

The detective said he interviewed Hunter at the UAB hospital the next day.

Hunter told him that Johnson and Thorn had been arguing that day, and his cousin told him to keep an ear away.

He was inside playing a video game when he heard argue and looked out to see Thorn “give up a weapon in the face (his girlfriend) and point it out to other people too,” Lacally said. “It was and got his gun and went out to calm Mr. Thorn and ask him to leave the location.”

Hunter said he downloaded his weapons magazine and left a round in the camera before leaving.

When Hunter approached Thorn, Thorn stood up and said: “What do you want to do?” And Hunter said Thorn began to shoot, hitting Hunter first on his foot, then the leg and shoulder.

“The defendant said he could see Mr. Thorn shooting on the ground,” he said lacally, “and that was when he was beaten in the ankle.” He felt that if he fell at that point, Mr. Thorn would shoot him (again). ”

The city’s shooting detection system, Shoot Spotter, recorded 10 rounds fired. The audio showed a shooting round, and then several seconds later nine more rounds were shot in rapid succession, Lacally said.

The forensic doctor, according to the detective, said that Thorn’s wound did not cause immediate death, and would have allowed him to shoot his gun after being injured and before he died.

Under the interrogation of Hunter’s lawyer, Lacally said Adrain Thorn told police that when he tried to intervene between Thorn and Hunter to intervene, Hunter pushed his arm.

“I wasn’t pushing her,” Lacally said.

Johnson, said the detective, described her boyfriend as “promoted” that day, which the detective took to mean noisy and bustling.

“She alluded to the fact that they had been drinking,” Lacally said. The testimony indicated that alcohol included beer and tequila.

Henrich said Hunter went to the house where Thorn was with a gun in his hand, and said that the entire evidence showed that the case should advance in the judicial process.

“Any problem of self -defense would be for a jury trial,” said the prosecutor.

Head said that self -defense problems should certainly consider in the trial, but said that the case should not be sent to a large jury because none of the witnesses could say who shot first.

“We know the gentleman who was tragically killed that day, Mr. Christon Thorn was drinking and acting advertising,” Head said. “My client was willing to talk to the police. He told them very clearly that Christon Thorn shot him first and that if he had dropped after being beaten in the foot, he would probably have been shot dead and returned to fire with the only shot he had. “

He said that the case will advance, it should be an involuntary homicide charge.

Head also asked that the Hunter bonus be reduced from $ 100,000 to $ 60,000 so that he could be released, especially due to his physical needs while healing, but Bell left the bail set as it is.