http://www.startribune.com/local/south/17117521.html

Not sure if anyone posted this yet.

A couple of things disturb me on both ends.

1) He didn't call 911 or call an attorney. If it was indeed self-defense, that's not the way to go about showing it.

2) The comment from the MPD Lt. concerning the fact that the other party didn't have a weapon. I would argue that someone preparing to stomp you on the ground with his buddies in attendance could defintely be a threat to your life.

I don't think we have anything close to the whole story from either side.

-Mark

As to the latter, sure. As to your #1, yup. Ask any criminal attorney about the advantages of making those calls immediately, rather than waiting to turn oneself in.

Do remember, though, that Lt. Huffman -- not the most reliable narrator, in any case -- isn't in the business of providing a fair and balanced account, but of gathering evidence for prosecution.

Hmmm..Lots of holes left in this story. Going to be alot of evidence presented on hearsay as to exactly what happened at the scene. Mr. Lessley will be rolling the dice with the jury is my guess.
Sounds like he has been involved in and or exposed to some nefarious activities in his past. Being shot once already. Good example of how things can go to hell in a hurry. More fodder for the anti's.

Lots of holes indeed. The guy he shot was 6ft away, yet the shooter was worried about falling down and being killed? Something doesn't jive there. Unless of course the guy shot is 6' 6" and 250lbs, and the shooter is 5' 2" and 120lbs wet. But even so, he'd only have had to show the weapon, and the other guys would've backed off. Something is fishy here.....but it'll come out.

Go look up "Tueller Drill," huh?

I looked up Tueller Drill. Intresting for sure. Never heard of this test before. Wonder how many times this has been cited in court by defense counsel.
This case will revisit the age old question of "what is life threatning"

A few summers ago before I carried I was approached in a car wash by 3 lets just say individuals who looked like they couldn't come up with 2 pennies between all 3 of them. I was washing my car which is a restored collector car which just happened to be for sale at the time with signs in the windows. This was a self serve unattended car wash and I was there alone with the exception of these 3 who just happened to be passing by.
Well they decide they are interested in buying the car and would like to take it for a test drive. I politely told them that I was in a hurry to get to an appointment and that they should write the number down and call me tomorrow and we will set something up. No they said we will just test drive it now we will be back in a few minutes. To which I replied no I don't think so. I won't get into all the dialouge that took place but these guys were certainly giving the threatning vibes. one started to walk around the other side of the car opening the door and looking inside but his intent was to get behind me while the other two closed the gap between them and myself. The only thing that came to mind was I whipped out my cell phone and dialed 911. while I am talking to the dispatcher these guys start getting real loud. Hey all we want to do is look at your car!! It's for sale man!! No problems here man. I said into the phone they are on the way?? Thank you!!
They finally started to walk out calling me every name in the book etc etc.
Did I feel my life was threatned? I don't know but I knew I was in for a good ass kicking and my car probably stolen. Would I have been justified in shooting all 3? I am quite certain Iwould be sitting in prison right now .
I can imagine what a mess this would have been in court. My car was for sale with signs in the windows. These guys were intrested in test driving it and I wind up shooting them???
The prosecuter would have had me a screwed blued and tatooed certified paranoid gun nut.

There are definitley alot of facts we are missing. It dosen't mention anywhere in the article that Lessley has a permit to carry, if he dosen't then he was apparently carrying a concealed .44 illegaly. And if this is found to be not a justified case of self defence is it going to be used by the antis as an example of why citizens shouldn't be allowed to carry guns even though the act was commited by a non permit holder.

I'm pretty sure if he were a permit holder, it would have come out almost immediately. So, I doubt he will dodge the weapons charge. (Gross mis?)

However, there were 4 attackers. He just shot the most aggressive one. He didn't fire any follow-up shots, either, indicating his intent was to stop an attack, not commit one.

1) Likely he was in fear of GBH. Was his fear reasonable?

2) Would lesser force have worked? Simply brandishing the gun might have worked, and indeed, that might have been tried. After all, it was a .44 Magnum. That big ol' muzzle can be powerfully intimidating.

3) From the account, he did try to retreat.

4) From the account, he was an unwilling participant.

Apparently, the shooter has no serious record. I'd like to see the tox results on the deceased.

Sure sounds like a "drunken frat boys decide to kick the ass of a townie, and get a surprise" story, but there's usually twists.

Zimme71, just showing your gun may or MAYNOT be enough. At 6' I wouldn't bet on it though.. He needs to lawyer up big time.

He did attempt to retreat but only to flee the scene of an accident. Can you claim self defense while committing a crime?

He wasn't the driver, is leaving the scene still a crime?

And yes, he definitely lost the "race to the courthouse" in this one.

This sounds like a case of solving problem 1 , self preservation, in a manner that may make if very hard to solve problem 2 ,the court battle that follows. This is why we have training and forums and such.

This guy is 22 years old. He has already been in three gun incidents. This speaks to me about Lessley’s character.

The recipient of the .44 was 6 feet away. So according to the Tueller drill, Lessley (if he was well trained and carrying properly) was at least a minimum of 27 feet away when he started to pull his gun against someone who had no weapon. Then he fled the scene. Then he said he was going to call the police after he took a shower?

After reading the article it would seem that being a moron is spread out everywhere in Lessley's family tree.. IMHO
Be safe, CraigJS

Imminent fear of death OR great bodily harm is the standard. Not "Life Threatening"

Certainly sounds as though a good criminal defense lawyer could raise that doubt in this case.