Criminal Law Keyed to Johnson
State v. Simon
Facts
Anthony Simon (Defendant) lived next door to Steffen Wong. Defendant feared Wong and assumed Wong was a martial-arts expert based on Wong’s ethnicity. The two men did not get along, and Defendant eventually fired shots at Wong and two other neighbors, Rickey and Brenda Douglas. When police officers arrived, Defendant fired at the officers as well. Defendant was charged with two counts of aggravated assault for shooting at Wong and Rickey. At trial, Defendant testified that he was afraid of Wong and that Wong had advanced toward him, cursing, just before the incident. A psychologist testified that Defendant was a psychological invalid who had a mental condition that caused him to believe he was under attack due to a distorted view of reality. The trial court instructed the jury that a person was justified in the use of force to defend himself against an aggressor’s imminent use of unlawful force to the extent that such defense appeared reasonable to the person under the circumstances. Defendant argued that he believed Wong presented an immediate threat and that shooting Wong was a reasonable thing to do to protect himself. Defendant was found not guilty on both counts. The State appealed.
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