Lawrence County officials say a shooting Sunday following a dispute between two men appears to be a justifiable act of self-defense, marking the second such incident to occur there in less than four months.
Monticello resident David Howell, 50, is recovering from several gunshot wounds and is in stable condition at Forrest General Hospital in Hattiesburg.
Lawrence County Sheriff Joel Thames said Jerry Darrell King, 40, shot Howell during a domestic dispute that got out of hand on Sunday afternoon.
No charges have been filed against King because the shooting appears to be justified under the state’s “castle doctrine,” Thames said on Tuesday. The case will go to the grand jury, the sheriff said.
Howell allegedly went to King’s house in the 1600 block of Carmel-New Hope Road, Monticello, and started a confrontation which reportedly led King to feel threatened.
“Mr. King feared for his life and fired,” Thames said. “It seems they’ve had an ongoing feud between each other for some time.”
King fired five shots from his .45-caliber handgun, striking an unarmed Howell with three rounds in the upper-left torso near his shoulder and neck.
Thames said King’s girlfriend, who was there during the incident, immediately called 911.
Deputies and EMT units arrived shortly thereafter. Howell went by ambulance to an area hospital before being airlifted to Forrest General.
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is assisting the sheriff’s office with the case, a protocol that Thames said prevents the possibility of any bias being inserted into the investigation.
Sunday’s shooting marks the second case of a shooting in self-defense to come out of Lawrence County.
On Sept. 24, 2013, David Maxwell, shot and killed 30-year-old Matthew James Javor of Ruth, whom authorities said broke into Maxwell’s home on Henry Cox Road east of Monticello.
At the time, authorities said Maxwell woke up around 4:30 a.m. to the sound of his dog barking and retrieved his 12-gauge shotgun. As he walked into his kitchen, he saw a man, later identified as Javor, prying open his back door.
Once Javor entered, Maxwell fired one shot, killing him, then walked out of his back door and saw another man inside a truck in the back yard.
Thames said the homeowner fired two shots at the truck, shattering one of its windows and prompting the driver, whom authorities later identified as Michael Alford, 34, to flee the scene.
Alford later turned himself in, and he is now in jail awaiting trial, Thames said.
MBI and the sheriff’s office investigation led to the determination that Maxwell acted within his rights and was not to face any criminal charges.
Mississippi adopted the castle doctrine in 2006. It lifted requirements that individuals first try to flee before using deadly force to counter a threat in their homes, vehicles or at work.
