Exercising the right.

"...the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed."

Self-defense Vindicated

Kenny Der and Darrell R. Kifer own Abacus Business Service, a furniture and wood-refinishing establishment located in a two-story warehouse in East Baltimore, Maryland. At around 9:30 p.m. on June 30, 2001, they were working on the first floor when they heard "crashes and thunks" coming from upstairs. There had been numerous break-ins at the warehouse in recent weeks (about 20, according to Kifer), so Der, armed with a handgun, and Kifer, carrying a shotgun, went to investigate.

Der and Kifer confronted an intruder, later identified as Tygon Walker, who had broken through a window. Walker appeared to be armed, and though the weapon was subsequently determined to be a hammer, in the darkened room the store owners could not tell what it was. According to the pair, Walker threatened to kill them, at which point they opened fire.

The would-be thief was struck by six bullets and five shotgun pellets. He died at the scene. An autopsy determined that he had been intoxicated and high on morphine. Police records further revealed that he had been arrested in Baltimore on at least eight occasions between 1993 and 1996, and had been convicted of felony theft in 1994.

The shooting appeared to be a clear-cut case of justifiable self-defense. But on November 28, 2001, a Baltimore County grand jury indicted Der and Kifer on first degree murder charges. Maryland State's Attorney Patricia C. Jessamy, describing the beleaguered businessmen as criminals, was quoted in the December 17th Baltimore Sun as saying: "We have a comprehensive strategy in Baltimore for dealing with crimes with guns and reducing gun violence. The killing [of Walker] was not a typical street crime, but it is a crime that needs to be prosecuted."

Der and Kifer waived their right to a jury trial, opting instead for a joint bench trial before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge John M. Glynn. During the proceeding, prosecutor Mark P. Cohen insisted that the two had not acted in self-defense, but had instead fired at Walker with intent to kill because they were angry that the warehouse had been broken into so many times. Cohen declared: "These defendants shot this victim multiple times and the shooting was not justified under the law."