'Stand your ground' law could be tested in Fargo fatal shooting trial - INFORUM

FARGO — A “stand your ground” law that went into effect just days after a Fargo man fatally shot another near North Dakota State University should apply in his murder trial, his attorneys said.

Jury selection began Tuesday, March 22, in Cass County District Court for 40-year-old Raymond Christopher Gunn . He faces a Class AA felony of murder in connection to the July 24 death of 41-year-old Eric Woodrow Hayes of Fargo in the Loaf ‘N Jug parking lot at 1201 N. University Drive.

If convicted, he faces life in prison without parole.

The trial is expected to last four days.

Prosecutors are expected to argue that Gunn intended to kill Hayes after a confrontation outside the gas station. It’s unclear what words were exchanged between the two men, and they didn’t know each other before the incident.

Court documents allege Gunn pulled a gun on Hayes. Hayes and another man, Jerod Robinson, tried to distance themselves from Gunn, but the defendant approached Hayes again with his firearm, a criminal complaint alleged.

Hayes retreated backward but “changed positions with Gunn, prompting Gunn to retreat halfway around the car” before Gunn fell and shot Hayes in the stomach, the complaint said.

Hayes died at a hospital.

Gunn’s attorney, Tracy Hines and Nicole Bredahl, have argued that their client acted in self-defense. They suggested Hayes pulled a knife on Gunn, acted aggressively toward the defendant and called Gunn a racial slur.

Roberson and Gunn, if he takes the stand in his own defense, could shed light on what, if any, racial slur reportedly Hayes used. Gunn is Black and Hayes was Caucasian.

Prosecutor Renata Olafson Selzer objected on Monday to the defense presenting evidence to the jury suggesting Hayes was racist, calling it irrelevant to the case.

Bredahl also asked that jurors consider North Dakota’s recently passed law that removes a requirement to retreat if the person who uses deadly force is not engaging in illegal activity in a public place. The law doesn’t protect those who provoke violence.

The “stand your ground” law went into effect Aug. 1, more than a week after the shooting. Bredahl said her client should be given the benefit of the law since it is in effect while the trial is proceeding.

The move could present the first test in a North Dakota courtroom involving the law.

Selzer also fought efforts to introduce evidence that Hayes was violent or used drugs. Gunn would not have known Hayes used meth or was an aggressive person before they met, and experts can’t say whether alcohol made him violent.

Prosecutors opposed allowing Hayes’ toxicology report since alcohol and drugs did not cause his death. Allowing the evidence could reflect poorly and unfairly on Hayes, Selzer said.

The defense said it doesn’t plan to offer specific evidence from past incidents involving Hayes’ reported violence unless the state tries to do the same with Gunn. However, witnesses could testify that Hayes became a “hothead” and aggressive when under the influence of alcohol, Bredahl said.

If witnesses and Gunn testify that Hayes was acting aggressively the night of the shooting, that could reveal Gunn’s state of mind in defending himself, the defense said.

Judge Tristan Van de Streek didn’t rule on allowing the toxicology report or evidence Hayes was aggressive, used drugs or alcohol, or was racist. He said he would have to see how that evidence and witness statements play out in court.

source: https://www.inforum.com/news/fargo/stand-your-ground-law-could-be-tested-in-fargo-fatal-shooting-trial

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