Bad neighbors. (Exercising the Right).

Carl E. Heerwagen, 40, and Clem L. Roberts, 45, were neighbors in a Spokane, Washington, apartment complex. Heerwagen lived on the second floor; Roberts resided on the third. On June 12th, the two men had apparently been feuding when, at about 6:30 p.m., Roberts went to Heerwagen's apartment and began banging on the door. Heerwagen grabbed a handgun and called 911. He told the operator Roberts was coming after him and that he was afraid. The operator could hear yelling and what sounded like a door being kicked in, then gunshots. "I just shot him," Heerwagen blurted into the phone.

When police arrived, they found Roberts lying in the hallway outside the apartment. He died at the scene from a bullet wound to the chest. Heerwagen was interviewed by major crime detectives and released later that day without being charged after the detectives verified his account with 911 operators.