Neighbors intervene in domestic incident at Sacramento-area complex; man shot and killed
SACRAMENTO COUNTY – Detectives are investigating after a man who allegedly forced his way into a Sacramento-area apartment looking for his estranged wife was shot and killed.
The scene was on Sunnyslope Drive, off Chandler Drive and Florin Road. Deputies with the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office responded just before 12:30 a.m. at the Garden Village Apartments and found a man had been shot.
That man was soon pronounced dead at the scene, deputies say.
As detectives soon learned, the man had allegedly shown up at the complex looking for his estranged wife. He was able to get into the apartment and then tried to physically remove her, detectives believe.
This is when other residents at the complex stepped in to help. One of those residents then grabbed his legal firearm and tried to get the man to leave. Detectives say the resident then shot the man once.
The man then tried to walk outside, but he then collapsed.
Detectives say the man who fired the fatal shot is cooperating with the investigation. It will be up to the district attorney if any charges will be filed.
"They're going to analyze to see whether or not what this person did was what they felt was reasonable at the time and there was no more serious force that was needed that was necessary," said Mark Reichel, an attorney.
Under California law, it states that a person can act in defense of themselves and others.
To act in self-defense of another person, you must prove you had a reasonable belief that force was necessary to protect another person from an imminent threat of danger.
"The defense for self or others can be a very valid defense as long as it's reasonable and not excessive," Reichel said.
Reichel said the district attorney's office will likely look through evidence, question witnesses and even analyze ballistics to determine if use of force was absolutely necessary.
"Right now it's not so much a who done it it's just a matter of gathering all the circumstances and the facts around it to get the full picture," Sacramento County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Amar Gandhi said.
Reichel said the fact that the weapon used was legally owned by the shooter played a critical role in no charges being filed.
