Whom shall we believe?(EXERCISING THE RIGHT)

Rob Pierce, Jr. claims he was walking to his fiancee's mother's Easton, Pennsylvania, residence, when two strangers, Tyrone Wright and Maurice Cook, tried to mug him.

The Morning Call reported that Pierce "became suspicious when Cook, 22, of Easton, and Wright, 22, of Newark, N.J., who were walking behind him, picked up their pace and narrowed the gap as all three made their way to S. 11th Street about 5:30 p.m. Dec. 4." Pierce said he "knew something was wrong when he heard them call out 'Yo,' or 'Hey.'"

So he unholstered his registered pistol and slipped it into his coat pocket. Cook ran up and stuck a gun in Pierce's back, and Wright got in front of Pierce, grabbing him. "The muggers took Pierce's keys and cell phone, then dragged him toward the east side of the street while telling him to cooperate and be quiet." They also told Pierce they were going to shoot him.

So Pierce tried to stand up; he pulled his pistol; and he shot into the air to scare the two men. At the shot, Wright fled, but Cook stepped back and began shooting, first into the ground and then at Pierce. Pierce then aimed at Cook's legs and began shooting. Pierce hit Cook in the stomach, causing him to free.

Police caught up to Wright and Cook when Cook sought medical attention. At the men's arraignment, their lawyers claimed that Pierce was the aggressor in the incident, that Pierce said something to them about some woman, pulled a ...