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State v. Pyburn8/16/2004
h Moore. The victim informed the appellant that he was ready to leave, and the appellant told the victim to go outside and warm the car. The appellant testified that the victim came back into the residence once or twice and insisted on leaving. The appellant finally left.
The appellant testified that as they left Moore's residence, the victim told the appellant that he was angry with the appellant for not taking him to Etna Mountain. The appellant claimed that they continued to argue during the drive home and when they arrived home, the argument became more heated. The appellant stated, "[The victim] told me I wasn't never a father to him and I was never around and he hated me." According to the appellant, the victim wrestled the appellant to the floor and struck him in the head several times. When the appellant broke free of the victim's grasp, he told the victim "to go pack his stuff and call somebody to come get him. I' had it with him." The appellant testified that the victim grabbed the rifle from behind the door and took it into his bedroom. The appellant went to the victim's bedroom, retrieved the rifle, and placed it back behind the door. The appellant then opened the door to allow the dog to come inside the mobile home.
The appellant testified that he was about to return the rifle to the gun cabinet when he observed the victim standing in his bedroom near the hallway with a knife in his hand. The victim threatened to kill the appellant. The appellant picked up the rifle and asked the victim to put down the knife. The appellant testified, "[The victim] lunged at me like he was going to run at me. That's when the gun went off." The victim fell. The appellant claimed that prior to the rifle discharging, he had neither cocked the rifle nor aimed it at the victim.
The appellant testified that he looked into the victim's bedroom, then went into the living room and telephoned Moore. The appellant claimed that he did not call 911 because he was "tore up." Instead, he told Moore that he had shot the victim and asked her to call 911. When he finished talking to Moore, he sat in a chair without hanging up the telephone and began to cry. He then heard the telephone "beep." It was the 911 operator. He told the operator what had happened and the police arrived shortly thereafter. The appellant testified that he returned the rifle to the gun cabinet sometime after the shooting. He related that after the shooting he did not know if the victim was dead, but he suspected it. The appellant related that Moore had telephoned while he and the victim were fighting, but he denied telling Moore that he was "fixing to kill the little MF."
On cross-examination, the appellant acknowledged that while at Moore's home, he had "a buzz" and the victim was intoxicated. The appellant conceded that when he placed the rifle behind the door, he did not check to see if it was cocked. He further conceded that he was not frightened when the victim threatened to kill him. He believed the victim was "just running his mouth." However, the appellant subsequently testified that he believed the victim was going to kill him, but maintained that the shooting was an accident. The appellant acknowledged that when he let the dog in, the victim was on the cordless telephone in the living room. He explained that there was only one telephone in the residence. When asked if he checked on the victim after the rifle discharged, the appellant replied, "I hollered, he didn't say nothing. I took it he was hurt." However, he claimed that he did not know the victim was dead until Sergeant Powell told him. The appellant denied telling Moore that he did not want to call 911 because he did not want to go to jail. He also denie
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Tennessee DUI Attorneys
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