Exercising the right.

"...the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed."

Self-defense Vindicated

Kenny Der and Darrell R. Kifer own Abacus Business Service, a furniture and wood-refinishing establishment located in a two-story warehouse in East Baltimore, Maryland. At around 9:30 p.m. on June 30, 2001, they were working on the first floor when they heard "crashes and thunks" coming from upstairs. There had been numerous break-ins at the warehouse in recent weeks (about 20, according to Kifer), so Der, armed with a handgun, and Kifer, carrying a shotgun, went to investigate.

Der and Kifer confronted an intruder, later identified as Tygon Walker, who had broken through a window. Walker appeared to be armed, and though the weapon was subsequently determined to be a hammer, in the darkened room the store owners could not tell what it was. According to the pair, Walker threatened to kill them, at which point they opened fire.

The would-be thief was struck by six bullets and five shotgun pellets. He died at the scene. An autopsy determined that he had been intoxicated and high on morphine. Police records further revealed that he had been arrested in Baltimore on at least eight occasions between 1993 and 1996, and had been convicted of felony theft in 1994.

The shooting appeared to be a clear-cut case of justifiable self-defense. But on November 28, 2001, a Baltimore County grand jury indicted Der and Kifer on first degree murder charges. Maryland State's Attorney Patricia C. Jessamy, describing the beleaguered businessmen as criminals, was quoted in the December 17th Baltimore Sun as saying: "We have a comprehensive strategy in Baltimore for dealing with crimes with guns and reducing gun violence. The killing [of Walker] was not a typical street crime, but it is a crime that needs to be prosecuted."

Der and Kifer waived their right to a jury trial, opting instead for a joint bench trial before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge John M. Glynn. During the proceeding, prosecutor Mark P. Cohen insisted that the two had not acted in self-defense, but had instead fired at Walker with intent to kill because they were angry that the warehouse had been broken into so many times. Cohen declared: "These defendants shot this victim multiple times and the shooting was not justified under the law."

In rebuttal, Leslie A. Stein, Kifer's attorney, described the murder charges as "ludicrous" and maintained that the number of wounds suffered by Wallace was "almost irrelevant." "What brought about his death," Stein contended, "were his own illegal acts."

On January 23rd, at the conclusion of the five-day trial, Der and Kifer were acquitted. The Washington Times editorialized on January 26th: "In a city like Baltimore, where hundreds of homicides occur each year (many of which go unsolved), why is Mrs. Jessamy squandering taxpayer dollars by persecuting small-business owners like Messrs. Kifer and Der, who were merely defending their lives and their property?"

In the wake of Judge Glyan's verdict, Der expressed relief: "Now I can go on with my life.... This has been a tremendous burden emotionally and financially." Kifer told reporters: "This case was an injustice that challenged the foundation of the right to defend yourself. I am hoping people will now be able to defend themselves and not be prosecuted."

Home Invasion

At about 9 a.m. on January 23rd, Jorge Garza was at home with his wife and three children when a youth knocked on the side-patio door of their north Dallas, Texas, condominium. The teen asked for "Juan," and as Garza explained that he had the wrong address, two armed men approached. When Garza noticed the handgun of one of the men, he shut and locked the door.

As he ran to the master bedroom for his own gun, one of the armed men fired a shot into the door. The bullet struck Mr. Garza in the left shoulder, but the wound was not incapacitating. The thugs then kicked-in the door.

While Mrs. Garza and the children huddled in a corner of the bedroom, Mr. Garza grabbed his gun and fired at the intruders until the clip was empty. One of the men, Alex Quinones, slumped to the floor, mortally wounded. The other, Carlos Ivan Boya, attempted to flee but collapsed and died in the yard outside.

During the shooting, the youth who had asked for "Juan" jumped into a black Cadillac and sped away. Though Garza attempted to shoot the car's tires and note the license plate number, the young accomplice escaped and remains at large.

Quinones had recently been arrested by Dallas police on a kidnapping charge after kicking down the door of a residence and dragging his ex-wife to his car. On the day of the shooting, he was free on $15,000 bail. According to state records, Boya had no previous criminal record.

Mr. Garza told Dallas television station KXAS, "I never [thought] something like [this was] going to happen. Never. Never." His wife and children were not harmed during the ordeal.

The case will be referred to a Dallas County grand jury, but Dallas police concluded that Garza was justified in using deadly force and probably would not face any criminal charges.

In-law Intervention

Shortly after noon on January 5th, Bobbi Jo Hill and her mother drove to a home next-door to that of Terry E. Hill (Bobbi Jo's estranged husband) in Silver Spring Township, Pennsylvania, to pick up some food for delivery to the Humane Society.

As they were leaving, Mr. Hill allegedly ran from his house, opened the passenger-side door of Mrs. Hill's car, and pulled her from the vehicle. According to arrest documents, he then carried her into his home and struck her on the right side of her head with his hand. At that point, according to the January 7th Harrisburg Patriot-News, "Hill's mother-in-law intervened with her gun and ordered him to sit on the floor until police arrived." He complied.

Mr. Hill claimed that he had been watching television when his estranged wife used her key to enter the house, and that his mother-in-law had brandished her handgun when he tried to call 911. The police, skeptical of his story, charged him with simple assault, harassment, and indirect criminal contempt. The latter stemmed from a protective order, signed by a county judge six days early, that required him to avoid any contact with his wife.

Bobbi Jo Hill was examined by ambulance personnel, but declined further medical attention. According to the Patriot-News, "Police said her mother has a permit to carry the handgun for self-defense."