Marcus Weldon.jpg

Marcus Weldon

A 28-year-old man who shot two men while dressed as Santa Claus after an argument at a Detroit gas station on Dec. 21, 2014 has been acquitted of all charges against him.

Marcus Weldon, who is licensed to carry a concealed firearm, says he claimed self defense when he took the stand in a week-long trial that ended with a jury issuing a not-guilty verdict Monday.

Weldon opened fire on two men, striking one of the men, Omar Pady, then 29, in the abdomen, and his friend, Salah Rifai, in the arm.

He claims he fired his gun in self defense, believing that Pady was going to shoot him.

Weldon spent three days in jail after his 2014 arrest before posting bond.

He'd been monitored by a GPS tether and restricted to house arrest since that time. The tether was removed Monday, Weldon said in a phone interview Tuesday.

On the night of the shooting, Weldon said he was working for a production company at a holiday party hosted at the MGM Grand Casino in Detroit. He was being paid to dress as Santa Claus.

Following the party, he and a female coworker drove to the Speedway gas station at 711 E. Jefferson in Downtown Detroit. They intended to fill up the woman's tire, which had an air leak.

Weldon said the woman walked up to the gas station window "to get some chips or something," when Pady walked up next to her.

He said he noticed Pady, who arrived as a passenger in another car, approach and leave the passenger-side door open.

"I thought 'That seems kind of weird,'" Weldon said.

Weldon said it seemed like Pady thought the woman was alone and made a pass at her.

"Then he got kind of aggressive and kind of pushed her."

Weldon said he approached Pady and noticed that he seemed intoxicated, with red eyes.

"He thought he was just going to come over and have his way with her," Weldon said. "He just charges at me and pushes me.

"My pistol started slipping down my pants. I said, 'I'm carrying. Get back.'"

According to Weldon, Pady then said, "I've got something for you," and ran back towards the open door of the car where he pulled out a black snub-nosed handgun.

"At the time, I thought he as going to kill me," Weldon said.

When Pady allededly ran toward the car, retrieved the gun and turned back, Weldon shot him.

Weldon says Pady also fired, but missed him "by the grace of God."

Rifai testified in court, saying Weldon's actions weren't justified.

"I couldn't believe it," he said during a preliminary examination according to the Detroit Free Press. "They didn't fight. They didn't do anything. There was no point."

Pady, who spent a short time on life support during his recovery, was unavailable to testify.

David R. Cripps, Weldon's attorney, said Pady moved to Yemen after the shooting.

There is video of the incident, but due to the camera's distance it's difficult to see if Pady was armed or opened fire.

A 911 caller claiming to be a clerk at the gas station told the dispatcher two people fired guns during the incident.

According to Cripps and Weldon, Wayne Circuit Judge Kevin J. Cox wouldn't let the 911 audio be entered into evidence because the clerk couldn't be located or subpoenaed to testify.

"He disappeared," said Weldon.

MLive called the Speedway twice Tuesday in an attempt to verify the 911 caller previously worked there. Both times, the clerk hung up.

Weldon said he's happy the court battle is over and ended with his vindication.

He no longer works for the production company that had him dress as Santa.

He said no one wanted to work with him after he appeared in the media following the shooting, but the attention did earn him support from various gun rights advocacy groups.

Weldon still lives in Detroit and works as a lighting engineer and maintenance worker for the MGM Grand Casino.