The early March shooting of a Fort Smith man allegedly on methamphetamine was deemed “justified” Tuesday after a review by the Sebastian County Prosecutor’s Office.

Michael A. Woith was shot with a 9 mm handgun at Fort Smith Blue Print Inc. 2001 Rogers Ave. on March 1.

“It is the opinion of this office that James Wisely was justified in his use of force, which does not merit the filing of any criminal activity,” Sebastian County Prosecutor Dan Shue wrote in a news release.

Shue noted the applicable law as reading “A person is justified in using deadly physical force upon another person if the person reasonably believes that the other person is committing or about to commit a felony involving force or violence; using or about to use unlawful deadly physical force.”

The law goes on to say that a person may not use deadly physical force in self-defense if the person knows that he or she can avoid the necessity of using deadly physical force by retreating. However, a person is not required to retreat if the person is unable to retreat with complete safety, the law adds.

Shue noted in his report that Wisely "could not retreat ... with complete safety, while witnessing the frightening and aggressive actions made by Mr. Woith. ... Furthermore, the criminal intent of Michael Woith placed Mr. Wisely in imminent fear for his life and he is entitled to act upon his honest belief that deadly physical force should be applied."

According to previous Times Record reports, Fort Smith police were dispatched shortly before 11 a.m. March 1 in response to reports of a shooting at Fort Smith Blue Print Inc.

Police located Woith, 41, in the 1200 block of Rogers Avenue “acting erratically and running into traffic.” As officers struggled to detain Woith, they noticed a single gunshot wound to his shoulder.

Employees at Fort Smith Blue Print told police Woith had entered the business, “yelling about weapons,” and saying he was being chased. Woith was reportedly carrying a large rock and was asked to leave multiple times. Woith ran into a wall and knocked over displays at the business while ignoring employee requests to leave. When Woith held up the rock in a threatening manner, Wisely discharged his weapon and shot him once, according to police.

"Mr. Woith went backwards as if he had been hit and threw the rock at him, which narrowly missed," Shue wrote in his report.

None of the employees was injured during the incident. Woith threw the rock toward them after he was shot, Shue's analysis of the shooting states.

While being treated by Fort Smith EMS and transported to a local hospital, Woith admitted to injecting and smoking methamphetamine that morning, the police report added.