Therese Apel

The Clarion-Ledger

Members of the legal community are scratching their heads over the murder indictment of a Jackson business owner accused of shooting a teen who was allegedly breaking into a vehicle on his property.

Wayne Parish, 57, of Crystal Springs, is charged with first-degree murder in the June 21 shooting of Charles McDonald, 17, who was allegedly trying to break into a vehicle outside Performance Oil Equipment Inc.

Surveillance video shows Parish and McDonald struggling after Parish comes out of the store with a gun and confronts the teen. Court documents filed by the defense allege Parish asked McDonald to leave the premises before McDonald refused and appears to have rushed Parish.

"From the video it appears clear that Mr. Parish had an opportunity to shoot the deceased, but he did not do so, rather the deceased ran at Mr. Parish and grabbed the gun where a struggle ensued and the deceased was shot," the document reads. "All of this is on video. It is unknown who actually pulled the trigger."

The video shows the two struggling, and at the end it appears Parish shoots McDonald again while he was on the ground.

Police said McDonald was shot multiple times in the upper torso. He was transported to the University of Mississippi Medical Center where he was pronounced dead, JPD Commander Tyree Jones said.

After the initial incident, police questioned Parish and released him, declining to press charges. The Lexus McDonald was allegedly attempting to break into sustained damage that was consistent with an auto burglary. Jones told media at the time that McDonald had been driven to the Henley-Young Juvenile Justice Center, which is next door to Performance Oil.

"At the time of the incident, the youth had two warrants out for his arrest. In one incident, he was involved in a police chase," the document reads. "Further, on the morning of the incident, the youth was involved in a house burglary and almost shot by the homeowner."

Jones said JPD sent the case to the district attorney's office, which is routine in such cases, but did not press charges.

"I can't speak to the decision of the grand jury," he said when asked why Parish would have been indicted if JPD did not press charges.

Mississippi College Law professor Matt Steffey, upon viewing the video, asked the question many were asking on social media after the video was released.

"What, if anything, distinguishes this from other shootings that have been deemed self-defense? We don’t know if there’s any history between these two, which might play into it, but (Parish) certainly has what would seem a colorable claim of self-defense," he said. "I would be interested in the prosecutor’s theory as to how the defendant lost the privilege of self-defense ... Here, the apparent effort of the victim to take the defendant’s gun would seem to remove that question. Self-defense requires the defendant to believe deadly force is necessary and that seems to be reasonable. The tape seems to support self-defense."

Parish's attorney, Merrida Coxwell, did not want to talk in depth about the details of the defense, but he said he believes the video upholds Parish's defense claim.

"The video certainly seems to fully justify that, but nobody that’s charged with a crime and no lawyer who defends them knows what goes on in a grand jury," Coxwell said.

It's not uncommon for a home or business owner to shoot an intruder during the course of a break-in. Mississippi has legislation commonly known as the Castle Law that allows a person to protect his or her home or other legally occupied place such as a business or vehicle with reasonable force, including deadly force.

In January 2015, Jamie L. Rose was declared dead on the scene at First Line Automotive on U.S. 80 and Gault Street in Jackson. Police said he was shot by the business owner while he was trying to break into the store. The business owner was not indicted.

In September 2016, a homeowner on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Jackson who saw a man trying to get in a sliding glass back door retrieved a shotgun and shot the intruder dead. He was not indicted either. At the time, Chief Lee Vance encouraged people to be aware that it is legal to defend one's property.

"Some people are not going to tolerate this, and they're going to defend their home, and it's their right to do so," Vance said. "Unwanted intruders are not welcome, and the consequences could be deadly."

In 2008, Sarbrinder Pannu was charged with murder after James Hawthorne left his store, J&S Food Mart, in Jackson carrying a case of beer he hadn't paid for. Pannu followed Hawthorne outside and shot him in the head and shoulder. Hawthorne, who had gotten into his vehicle, lost control and crashed into a gas pump. He was taken to the University of Mississippi Medical Center, where he later died.

Pannu was found not guilty after his attorney argued he shot at Hawthorne because he saw him bending down to get something in the car and he was afraid it was a weapon.

Citing that case, Steffey said the prosecution may have an uphill fight against Parish.

"I think it is going to be a challenging prosecution, but these things are so fact-sensitive," he said. "If the jury thinks the threat was over and then the person inflicted the fatal wounds, that could meet the legal definition of murder, but it could also be self-defense. It could also fall under what's called 'imperfect self-defense,' where the person over-perceives or feels an exaggerated sense of danger."

The question has also arisen as to whether Parish is being prosecuted because he is white and McDonald was black, while other similar cases had defendants and victims of the same race.

"There’s no way to ignore the racial overtones or undercurrents to this, but there’s no way to evaluate them either," Steffey said. "I could see how people would ask that question."

"I've heard that a lot and I won't comment on that," Coxwell said.

Contact Therese Apel at 601-961-7236 or tapel@gannett.com . Follow her on Facebook and Twitter .