Shooting in self-defense. (Exercising the Right).

Shortly after midnight on March 2nd, during an after-work get-together at Jennifer Meyer's apartment in Albuquerque, New Mexico, a man began repeatedly calling Meyer on the phone. Told that she was asleep, and unable to speak to him, the caller, Richard Dear, 20, went to the apartment. When he was not allowed inside, he began banging on the door and windows. Meyer's roommate, Shauna Givens, called apartment security and 911, hoping that someone could oblige Dear to leave.

In an attempt to stop Dear from banging on the door, Meyer went outside to talk to him. At the urging of others, Reed Albright an off-duty security guard at an Albuquerque bowling establishment where many al the gathering worked, followed her. Suddenly, Dear attacked Albright, knocked him to the ground, then punched and kicked him.

Following the brief scuffle, Dear ran to a Jeep driven by another person as Albright ran to his own truck to retrieve a handgun and a can of Mace. According to testimony by witnesses during a two-day judicial hearing in mid-November, Albright stepped in front of the jeep and ordered Dear to wait until police arrived. Dear jumped from the vehicle and again rushed Albright, who sprayed him with Mace. Undeterred, Dear (later determined to have a blood alcohol level of .093, above the legal limit) kept coming. As the two tumbled to the ground, Albright fired a single shot, striking Dear in the head. He died at the scene.

Albright, whom prosecutors claimed was motivated by vengeance, was charged with a plethora of serious offenses, including an open count of murder, aggravated battery, and two counts each of aggravated assault and false imprisonment. Following the recent hearing, however, state District Judge Albert S. Murdoch ruled on November 15th that Albright had acted in justifiable self-defense. All charges against him were dropped.