A jury in Albuquerque, New Mexico has acquitted a former Uber driver of involuntary manslaughter, almost seven years after shooting took place, while police in the city say a much more recent shooting was also an act of self-defense.
In the first case, jurors deliberated for about five hours before returning the not guilty verdict for Clayton Benedict, who had testified during his trial that he shot passenger James Porter in self-defense.
Attorneys said in closing arguments Friday that the fatal series of events began when Benedict picked up two intoxicated men at the Salt Yard, 6001 Osuna NE, on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, 2019.
A dispute escalated after Porter’s companion vomited in Benedict’s Ford Focus. Porter became irate after Benedict said he would impose a clean-up fee allowed by Uber policies, Benedict testified.
The fatal shooting occurred after Benedict stopped his car on the shoulder of southbound Interstate 25 and ordered the men out of the car.
Benedict’s attorney, Raymond Maestas, told jurors Friday that his client fired in self-defense after Porter threatened to run over Benedict and began to climb into the driver’s seat of Benedict’s car.
Porter had a BAC of .23 and was also apparently high on ecstasy when he got into Benedict’s car. Prosecutors contended that Benedict should have driven away after the pair got out of his vehicle, but instead stepped outside to chastise them for slamming his car door closed.
“Why would he get out of his vehicle when he’s just kicking these people out?” Ice said. “He’s not letting this argument go. The only reason he would get out of the car at that point is because he’s upset.”
Ice argued that Benedict further escalated by unholstering a gun and pointing it at the unarmed Porter.
“The defendant is the one who brought deadly force into a situation that was not deadly,” she told jurors. “He created this entire situation.” She also said Porter had a right to defend himself against lethal force.
The jurors apparently disagreed.
The case had been troubled by the start. Benedict was originally charged with second-degree murder, but a judge ruled that was improper. Prosecutors appealed, but the New Mexico Supreme Court agreed with the judge, which resulted in the charge of involuntary manslaughter.
As for Benedict pointing his gun at Porter, he testified that he did so only after Porter “came around the back of the car with his fists clenched.” Benedict said he had his back against the car, Porter coming at him from his left, and interstate traffic just feet away to his right. Feeling threatened, that’s when he drew his gun. Porter then stepped into traffic and Benedict used that as an opportunity to “put some space” between himself and the belligerent man, but ended up on the passenger side of the car, which is when Porter threatened to run him over and attempted to get behind the wheel.
The more recent shooting in Albuquerque appears to be much more cut and dried. On March 4, a man named Sean Martin was shot and killed in what police believe was a justified use of force. Martin and another man named Jeremy Munoz had apparently been chasing a Hummer with Martin’s ex-girlfriend inside. The woman told police after Martin was shot that he had been stalking and threatening her for weeks.
On the night of the shooting, she told police, Martin chased her and tried to ram his vehicle into hers near Second and Candelaria NW, according to the complaint.
Video from the area showed the two vehicles in a high-speed chase for several minutes and at least eight gunshots were heard, the complaint states.
Detectives determined Muñoz and Martin fired 14 gunshots at the Hummer while driving west on Aztec NW, between Second and 11th, said Gilbert Gallegos, spokesperson for the Albuquerque Police Department, in a Wednesday news release.
Martin’s ex-girlfriend and other people in the vehicle drove to a friend’s house and, as they left the area, Martin approached the vehicle, the complaint states. At that point, one of the people in the vehicle shot at Martin in what they told police was self-defense.
Martin’s alleged accomplice is now facing a variety of charges, including attempted first-degree murder, but the person who shot Martin has not been arrested, and police are investigating the shooting as a justifiable homicide, according to the Albuquerque Journal.
There are gun control activists out there who would argue that both Benedict and the individuals in that Hummer put themselves at greater risk of harm by carrying a gun, and that they would have been better off unarmed. These incidents, though, show that New Mexicans understand the importance of the right of self-defense, even in deep-blue Bernalillo County.
They also demonstrate the importance of being able to defend yourself if need be. Benedict lost his ability to drive for Uber as a result of having a gun on him, but he didn’t lose his life at the hands of a drunken passenger. It’s unknown if Martin’s ex-girlfriend had taken out a protective order, but even if she had it seems clear that Martin was more than willing to ignore the words on a piece of paper. Thankfully someone in that vehicle was carrying a firearm, and were able to stop the threat against her life and the lives of others when Martin refused to leave them be.
Editor’s Note: Defensive gun uses happen dozens of times a day across the United States, though the vast majority of them never get media coverage like this.
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