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Man found not guilty of attempted murder after using a firearm
见CBC报道
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/no ... dge-rules-1.3020018
A 23-year-old Nova Scotia man has beaten a charge of attempted murder after he shot a man who was driving towards him.
Kevin Joshua Neil was charged with attempted murder and six other offences arising from an incident in the early morning hours of Aug. 6, 2011. He shot at Matthew Scott Barry as Barry appeared to be trying to run him down.
Neil went on trial in February. His acquittal was announced in a decision released today by Nova Scotia Supreme Court Justice Felix Cacchione.
Neil's case started as a judge and jury trial. But things derailed three days in, when a juror complimented the Crown on how it was conducting the case. The compliment came while another juror was within earshot.
Justice Cacchione then agreed to a defence request to continue the trial as a judge-alone hearing.
In reviewing the evidence, Justice Cacchione wrote how Barry drove to Scott's home that day after he and some friends had been drinking.
"Mr. Barry was an angry young man at the time of this occurrence," Justice Cacchione wrote.
Angry exchange on front lawn
"He was angry that his girlfriend, who resided with him most nights of the week, was on the phone and receiving texts messages from her former boyfriend Mr. Neil."
Court heard how one of Barry's friends started an angry exchange with Neil on his front lawn.
Things deteriorated to the point where Barry drove towards Neil.
"I am satisfied that: Mr. Barry intentionally drove the vehicle onto the lawn in an effort to intimidate Mr. Neil; that he did so on more than one occasion; and that in doing so he committed an assault on Mr. Neil," Justice Cacchione wrote.
At one point, Neil went into his home and retrieved a rifle and fired a shot at Barry, hitting him in the face.
Justice Cacchione ruled that Neil acted in self defence and so was not guilty of attempted murder or any of the other charges he faced. |
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