BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - A Jefferson County judge dropped a capital murder charge against a Birmingham man who shot and killed another man who was dating the same woman.

Abdo Zawkri, 21, had been charged in the June 20 shooting death of 26-year-old Corey Jordan at an apartment complex in northeast Birmingham.

Circuit Judge Tommy Nail ruled after a preliminary hearing Monday that the state did not have probable cause to hold Zawkri on the charge. Defense attorney Erskine Mathis had requested a dismissal of the charge.

The shooting occurred shortly before midnight June 20 in the 2900 block of Gallant Drive.

Police found Zawkri wounded outside the apartment, and he was taken to UAB Hospital in critical for treatment of life-threatening injuries.

"There's not a jury in this state that would convict this man on the facts of this case," Nail said after announcing his decision. "It's a clear-cut case of self-defense."

Birmingham police Detective Jeff Steele testified Monday that when officers arrived at the apartment complex that night, they found Zawkri suffering from a gunshot wound in the stomach. He had collapsed at the foot of a stairway.

Steele testified that the woman who rents the apartment had been involved in on-again, off-again relationships with both Jordan and Zawkri. She told police that she had ended her relationship with Zawkri and had not spoken to him for several days, but phone records showed text messages were exchanged the day of the shooting.

Zawkri told police that the woman visited him that day and invited him over, so he went over to her apartment with food. He knocked on the door, and a large man opened it and told him the woman was not home before slamming the door in his face.

The man, later identified as Jordan, reopened the door, fired one round and shut the door again. Zawkri fired several shots into the closed door.

Jordan, who bled to death after being shot in a major artery, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Several witnesses said they saw Zawkri drive up in his truck and approach the apartment. Though no one saw the shooting occur, they reported hearing a quick, heated exchange, followed by several gunshots.

After Zawkri collapsed on the ground, several people went through his car and his pockets, robbing him of his belongings. One man took the gun used to shoot Jordan out of Zawkri's hand and later sold it in Gate City, Steele testified.

Physical evidence at the scene coincided with Zawkri's account of what happened, Steele said.

Deputy Jefferson County District Attorney Laura Poston said Zawkri was charged because prosecutors believed the threat to Zawkri ended when Jordan closed the door.

During the hearing Monday afternoon, Mathis said Zawkri remains confined to a hospital bed and could be there much longer. He is being treated in a sterile environment, which prevents him from appearing in court.