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Was Wilkerson within his rights to shoot and kill Payne under the Castle Doctrine? Maybe Payne shouldn't have attacked him with such brutal force...
Suspect free on bond after fatal shooting outside party
By MITRA MALEK
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Friday, November 23, 2007
A person's right to defend his life, even in the death of another, was pushed front-and-center in a slaying case that pitted two young men in a fatal show of force.
William Wilkerson Jr., who shot and killed Jason Payne outside a party at Polo Lakes apartments early Thursday, was released Friday on a $25,000 bond after being charged with willful homicide.
The lawyer representing Wilkerson said that the judge's decision made sense in light of the state's recent Castle Doctrine law, which says a person can meet force with deadly force if he believes he must do so to stay alive.
"Wilkerson acted within the bounds of the law," Mark Shiner said. "He had a right, legally, to shoot him."
Wilkerson, a 19-year-old from Lake Worth, was at a get-together in Payne's apartment on Ripley Run carrying a black revolver early Thursday morning while the group of partygoers played ping-pong in a garage, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office. Wilkerson was flirting with Payne's girlfriend, and Payne asked him to leave.
Partygoers told police that Wilkerson was drunk and threatening to kill the unarmed Payne. Wilkerson got into his truck, and Payne followed, hitting the driver's side window with his hand. Nothing happened. The second time Payne hit the window, it broke. Wilkerson then shot Payne, 22, in the chest.
"My client is charged because he won the altercation, so to speak," Shiner said. "It's just a very unfortunate situation."
The Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office will decide how to handle the case after it reviews the police investigation, spokesman Mike Edmondson said.
"It really is impossible to say" whether the Castle Doctrine will play a role in Wilkerson's case "until all the facts are known," Edmondson said. One thing is clear though: the Castle Doctrine holds more weight when threats occur at a home.
Bob Dekle, a former prosecutor and University of Florida professor, had a similar interpretation: "There's a difference between a car and a home. The main difference I see is a car has wheels. A car is a perfect mechanism whereby you can retreat."
Still, the Castle Doctrine has been a popular defense since its October 2005 passage.
Norman Borden in June was the first defendant in Palm Beach County to beat murder charges under the law, when a jury acquitted him of all charges in a double slaying. Borden shot and killed two men and injured a third at about 2:30 one morning because he believed they were going to run him over while he walked his four dogs in the Westgate neighborhood near West Palm Beach.
In February, investigators took into account the Castle Doctrine in declining to bring charges in another Wellington incident, also over a girl. Ricardo Collier III shot and injured Daniel Scott Merkel when the 17-year-old late one Saturday night incessantly banged on the Colliers' door and shouted obscenities.
Jose Tapanes invoked the law when he contended that he shot, and killed, his Acreage neighbor Christopher Cote because he feared the 19-year-old was trying to break into his house early one morning. A judge in August refused to dismiss a first-degree murder charge against Tapanes.
Meanwhile, Payne's family gathered Friday in mourning. Larry Thornburg said his grandson was the last person he expected to wind up dying by gunshot. The young man who loved steak, fishing and baseball must have been trying to protect people at the party, Thornburg said.
Pain is acute for the Wilkersons too, their son's lawyer said.
When reached by phone, Wilkerson's father, Terry, had this to say: "There's a lot of misery going around."
Staff researcher Niels Heimeriks contributed to this story.
Find this article at:
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/west/epaper/2007/11/23/1123wellshoot.html
Was Wilkerson within his rights to shoot and kill Payne under the Castle Doctrine? Maybe Payne shouldn't have attacked him with such brutal force...
Suspect free on bond after fatal shooting outside party
By MITRA MALEK
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Friday, November 23, 2007
A person's right to defend his life, even in the death of another, was pushed front-and-center in a slaying case that pitted two young men in a fatal show of force.
William Wilkerson Jr., who shot and killed Jason Payne outside a party at Polo Lakes apartments early Thursday, was released Friday on a $25,000 bond after being charged with willful homicide.
The lawyer representing Wilkerson said that the judge's decision made sense in light of the state's recent Castle Doctrine law, which says a person can meet force with deadly force if he believes he must do so to stay alive.
"Wilkerson acted within the bounds of the law," Mark Shiner said. "He had a right, legally, to shoot him."
Wilkerson, a 19-year-old from Lake Worth, was at a get-together in Payne's apartment on Ripley Run carrying a black revolver early Thursday morning while the group of partygoers played ping-pong in a garage, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office. Wilkerson was flirting with Payne's girlfriend, and Payne asked him to leave.
Partygoers told police that Wilkerson was drunk and threatening to kill the unarmed Payne. Wilkerson got into his truck, and Payne followed, hitting the driver's side window with his hand. Nothing happened. The second time Payne hit the window, it broke. Wilkerson then shot Payne, 22, in the chest.
"My client is charged because he won the altercation, so to speak," Shiner said. "It's just a very unfortunate situation."
The Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office will decide how to handle the case after it reviews the police investigation, spokesman Mike Edmondson said.
"It really is impossible to say" whether the Castle Doctrine will play a role in Wilkerson's case "until all the facts are known," Edmondson said. One thing is clear though: the Castle Doctrine holds more weight when threats occur at a home.
Bob Dekle, a former prosecutor and University of Florida professor, had a similar interpretation: "There's a difference between a car and a home. The main difference I see is a car has wheels. A car is a perfect mechanism whereby you can retreat."
Still, the Castle Doctrine has been a popular defense since its October 2005 passage.
Norman Borden in June was the first defendant in Palm Beach County to beat murder charges under the law, when a jury acquitted him of all charges in a double slaying. Borden shot and killed two men and injured a third at about 2:30 one morning because he believed they were going to run him over while he walked his four dogs in the Westgate neighborhood near West Palm Beach.
In February, investigators took into account the Castle Doctrine in declining to bring charges in another Wellington incident, also over a girl. Ricardo Collier III shot and injured Daniel Scott Merkel when the 17-year-old late one Saturday night incessantly banged on the Colliers' door and shouted obscenities.
Jose Tapanes invoked the law when he contended that he shot, and killed, his Acreage neighbor Christopher Cote because he feared the 19-year-old was trying to break into his house early one morning. A judge in August refused to dismiss a first-degree murder charge against Tapanes.
Meanwhile, Payne's family gathered Friday in mourning. Larry Thornburg said his grandson was the last person he expected to wind up dying by gunshot. The young man who loved steak, fishing and baseball must have been trying to protect people at the party, Thornburg said.
Pain is acute for the Wilkersons too, their son's lawyer said.
When reached by phone, Wilkerson's father, Terry, had this to say: "There's a lot of misery going around."
Staff researcher Niels Heimeriks contributed to this story.
Find this article at:
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/west/epaper/2007/11/23/1123wellshoot.html