SOURCE: The Post and Courier – July 13, 2021, Olivia Diaz and Steve Garrison | Read entire article
A 9th Circuit Court judge cleared a store clerk of murder charges in a September fatal shooting at a downtown convenience store.
wntown convenience store.
Suhib Yousef, a Jordanian citizen, was 18 when he was accused of fatally shooting 41-year-old David Wilson on Sept. 28 after an altercation at his uncle’s store on President Street.
Yousef was initially charged with attempted murder and a firearm offense. After Wilson died from his wounds, the attempted murder charge was upgraded to murder.
Judge R. Markley Dennis Jr. dismissed the charges against him on June 24 after determining Yousef had a right to defend himself during his encounter with Wilson under the Protection of Persons and Property Act, the state’s version of a stand-your-ground law.
Officers were called to a report of a shooting at Green’s Grocery, 167 President St., at 5:55 p.m. Sept. 28, according to court records. When they arrived, police found Wilson suffering from gunshot wounds to the head.
Surveillance footage revealed that an altercation between Wilson and Yousef precipitated the shooting, records show.
Yousef’s defense attorney, Andy Savage, said in his motion for immunity that Wilson attempted a “flim flam” with Yousef by attempting to steal a phone charger.
Yousef repeatedly told Wilson to leave the store and he refused, shoving display products from the register counter toward the store clerk and spitting at him.
Yousef, who was a victim of an armed robbery at the store only a couple months before, first threatened Wilson with a Taser and then a machete before finally pulling out a pistol, records state.
Wilson momentarily left the store, record state, but he struck Yousef’s hand that was holding the gun before he left. After pacing outside for a few moments, Wilson rushed into the store and attacked Yousef.
Yousef responded by firing the gun at Wilson, striking him twice in the head.
Savage argued in his motion that Yousef’s actions presented a “text book case of self-defense.”
David Franklin DuTremble, an assistant solicitor with the 9th Circuit Solicitor’s Office, argued in a response to Savage’s motion that it was Wilson who acted in self-defense by rushing at Yousef in an attempt to disarm him.
“The danger of loss of life or great bodily injury in this case was brought about by the Defendant himself who threatened the victim with multiple weapons at different times,” the state claimed.
Ultimately, the judge ruled in favor of the defense.
“When Wilson physically attacked Yousef, he placed Yousef in reasonable fear of imminent serious injury,” Dennis wrote. “Accordingly, Wilson’s actions gave Yousef the statutory right to use lethal force.”
SOURCE: The Post and Courier