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Jerry Harryman uses headphones to listen to testimony.

(Steve Mayes/The Oregonian)

A Clackamas-area man was convicted Wednesday in a case that asked jurors to decide when self-defense becomes criminal aggression.

Jerry Thomas Harryman fired a bullet through William Young's left leg during a grocery fistfight last year after the two men who started trading obscenities and then punches.

Young maintained that his wife was being intimidated by Harryman and that he confronted him after an exchange of obscenities in the checkout line of the Clackamas Fred Meyer. Harryman claimed he was protecting himself from Young, who threw the first punch.

Jerry Harryman, 2012

Harryman was found guilty of second-degree assault — intentionally causing physical injury to another by means of a deadly weapon — and unlawful use of a weapon. He will be sentenced Wednesday in Clackamas County Circuit Court to at least 70 months in prison.

Harryman was immediately taken into custody, despite pleas from his attorneys that he remain free for at least a week so he could plan for the ongoing needs of his wife, who is seriously ill.

Prosecutor Bryan Brock opposed request, noting that Harryman intentionally shot a man in the foot in 1982. Harryman was not prosecuted because the victim was uncooperative, Brock said.

"Most people go through life without shooting anyone," Brock observed.

Brock also noted that Harryman owned large collection of handguns, rifles and knives.

Circuit Judge Eve Miller ordered that Harryman be taken directly to jail.

Miller said she was concerned that Harryman, who seemed to involuntarily shake throughout the trial, might harm himself or do something rash.

"I have a bad feeling," Miller said. "Way too many people choose suicide," she said.



As the trial opened, Brock and defense attorney Donald Molnar offered distinctly different accounts of the confrontation.

Harryman and Young met Aug. 21, 2012, while waiting in line at Check Stand 13. It was 3:40 p.m., and the store was crowded. Harryman was in line right behind Young and Young's wife, Dorothy, and 9-year-old grandson.

Dorothy Young was recovering from surgery and was seated in a motorized scooter.

Young testified he believed Harryman was too close to Dorothy Young, who was flustered as she attempted to enter her PIN and complete a purchase. "Back off, man," Young told Harryman.

They exchanged obscenities. When Harryman gave him the finger, Young quickly circled around the check stand and confronted him. During the brief struggle, both men threw punches and wrestled. Then Harryman pulled a .380 automatic pistol and shot Young in the lower left leg.

Harryman "introduced a gun into a fistfight, and that quickly ended it," said prosecutor Bryan Brock.

Harryman and Young are not youthful — Harryman is now 67 and Young is 60. Both are overweight, and each has medical problems. Young said he takes antidepressants for post-traumatic stress disorder and has short-term memory problems. Given the threat he faced, Harryman's use of deadly force was unreasonable and unjustified, Brock said.

Harryman's attorney described his client as the victim. "Mr. Harryman is on trial today for protecting himself," Molnar told jurors. Molnar said Young was the aggressor.

Harryman announced that he was armed and warned Young to back away. Harryman had a concealed handgun license and could legally carry the weapon in the store.

Harryman "reasonably believed he might receive serious physical injuries if he did not fight back," Molnar said.

Oregon law says "deadly physical force" may be used if there's reason to believe someone is committing — or is about to commit — a felony by using "physical force" against another person. In such situations, a person "may use a degree of force which the person reasonably believes to be necessary."