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A man who shot and killed his neighbor over a "leaf blowing incident" was found not guilty in Cuyahoga Common Pleas Court Wednesday.

(File photo)

CLEVELAND, Ohio - A 52-year-old man who fatally shot his neighbor after a front-yard fight about leaves and debris was found not guilty Wednesday by a Cuyahoga Common Pleas Court judge.

Andre Jackson of Bedford Heights was charged with murder in the death of Michael Davis. What started as an altercation about debris in the front yard ultimately ended up in a situation where - defense attorneys argued - Jackson felt threatened, and had no choice but to shoot.

Defense attorney Andy Petropouleas said the front yard fight was just the latest in a string of confrontations. Petropouleas described Davis as a neighborhood bully with a long history of causing trouble on what is otherwise a sleepy suburban street.

The shooting occurred on June 25, 2014. That day, Petropouleas said Davis was upset about water backing up in a drain near his home, for which he blamed his neighbor, Jackson. To send a message, he covered Jackson's driveway with mud and debris.

When Jackson attempted to clean up the mess, the two got into a fight, and in the end Jackson felt cornered and threatened, Petropouleas said. He shot Davis three times, including once in the back according to court documents.

Jackson was charged with murder and felonious assault. He did not deny shooting his neighbor, but said he had no other choice, given the situation. He also waived his right to a jury trial.

"It's crystal clear he was defending himself," Petropouleas said.

But prosecutors argued that Jackson used more force than was necessary to defend himself, and that he could have retreated or called 9-1-1 for help.

Judge Stuart A. Friedman said he was convinced Jackson did feel threatened enough to warrant a self-defense argument. In his decision, he described Davis as a hothead who had bragged the dubious claim that he used to be Mike Tyson's sparring partner.

"The defendant reasonably concluded that neither retreat, nor reasoning was likely to succeed this time, that Michael Davis was both capable and willing to inflict serious physical harm, and that the only option available to him in order to avoid that was the .357 Taurus handgun that he carried with him," Friedman wrote.