Trial Set For March For Howell Man In Road Rage Killing
HOWELL (WWJ/AP) - A trial date has been set for a 69-year-old Michigan man charged with killing a motorist in what authorities say was a case of road rage.
The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus of Howell reports Martin Zale's trial has been scheduled for March 2, 2015. Charges include open murder.
Derek Flemming, 43, was shot in the head in Sept. 2 after getting out of his vehicle to ask Zale about his aggressive driving. It happened in Livingston County's Genoa Township, 45 miles northwest of Detroit.
Witnesses, including Flemming's widow, Amy Flemming, told police Flemming wasn't armed when he approached Zale's truck and didn't make any verbal threats.
Zale remains jailed without bond after Howell District Court Judge Carol Sue Reader ruled he could be a danger to the public.
Defense lawyer Melissa Pearce has said she will argue self-defense, saying "the whole story has not been told."
Pearce said Zale was not aware of a bench warrant out for his arrest for 2008 road rage incident — in which he allegedly slapped a then-37-year-old man — and he has no criminal record.
Records show Derek Flemming was a victim in a 2013 road rage case in which he was shoved. He also had a history with law enforcement for allegedly making threats to shoot anyone who came on his property, according to reports.
Amy Flemming said she and her husband were on their way to pick up their two children on the day he was killed.
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