Homeowner found guilty of 2nd-degree murder for shooting Detroit teen on porch
Updated: After almost two days of deliberations, jurors in Detroit have found a Dearborn Heights, Michigan, man guilty of second-degree murder, manslaughter and a felony firearm charge for fatally shooting a 19-year-old woman who banged on his door after crashing her car, the Detroit Free Press and the New York Times report.
Theodore Wafer, 55, claimed he fired in self-defense when he shot Renisha McBride on Nov. 2. A prior ABAJournal.com article, an earlier Free Press article, Reuters and the Detroit News all have additional details.
After the verdict was delivered on Thursday afternoon, McBride’s mother Monica McBride told reporters: “Her life mattered, and we showed that.”
Wafer’s lawyer, Cheryl Carpenter, had argued in closing that McBride awoke to violent pounding on his door and believed multiple people were outside his home. The pounding was “getting louder and louder and louder and louder until the floors started vibrating, the walls were shaking, the window was about to break, the screen door was already broken,” Carpenter said.
Wafer testified that he grabbed his gun after he couldn’t find his cellphone, according to a previous article by the Free Press. He said he opened the front door because “I thought they were going to come through. I was not going to cower. I didn’t want to be a victim in my own house.” He said he raised his gun and fired when he saw a person come from the side of the house. “It was them or me,” he said.
Wafer originally told police he didn’t know his gun was loaded and it accidentally discharged.
Prosecutors argued Wafer grabbed his gun because he was seeking a confrontation with neighborhood kids he believed were banging on his door. The kids had previously splattered his vehicle with paint balls. There was “no evidence of fear,” said Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor Pat Muscat. “No evidence that he was going to get hurt, … no evidence anyone was in his home.”
Carpenter declined to speak with reporters, as did jury members. Wafer faces up to life in prison when he is sentenced later this month. The judge denied the defense’s request to allow him to remain out of jail until sentencing.
Meanwhile, MLive.com reports that thieves stole a videographer’s van parked outside the courthouse on Wednesday. The van was later recovered in northeast Detroit. Police say it’s unclear what was stolen, but the videographer had video and lighting equipment in the van.
Updated at 3:44 p.m. after the verdict was announced.
