Tennessee Criminal Lawyer Blog

Let it be known that neighbors Darren Wilkerson and Bruce Willard of Bartow, Florida are serious about lawn care. So serious, in fact, that when Mr. Wilkerson took it upon himself to trim Mr. Willard’s hedges, the situation turned into a no-holds barred fiasco that threatened the life of both men involved. Apparently the two neighbors had quarreled over lawn care in the past, and when Mr. Willard saw that his hedges were being trimmed by Mr. Wilkerson without permission, he armed himself (apparently believing he had reason to fear for his safety) and went to confront Mr. Wilkerson. Mr. Wilkerson reportedly responded by waving his weed-eater at Mr. Willard’s face, which prompted Mr. Willard to shoot Mr. Wilkerson several times in apparent self-defense. Mr. Wilkerson was taken to the hospital for his gunshot wounds, and, if that wasn’t bad enough, was also arrested for aggravated assault upon being released from treatment. At this time, there is no report of Mr. Willard facing any charges.

This situation helps to illustrate how the use of deadly force works in Tennessee and in most other states. The principle of self-defense allows a person to use deadly force to defend themselves when appropriate, but the use of such force is only appropriate when its use is necessary to prevent death or serious bodily injury. Clearly someone coming at your face with a weed-eater would qualify as a situation in which the threat of serious bodily injury is present. Had Mr. Wilkerson assaulted Mr. Willard with a water hose, Mr. Willard could not have reasonably been in fear of death or serious bodily injury and thus his use of the firearm would not have been justified. Had the weapon been something like a garden hoe the situation would have been much murkier. Defendants often find themselves in situations where they have used deadly force and been charged with some sort of assault or homicide offense. In such situations, the Defendant will have to prove that he or she was in fear of death or serious bodily injury at the time deadly force was used in order to avoid jail time. Using a competent Tennessee criminal defense attorney can be extremely useful in such situations, as an attorney can make sure such an argument is presented appropriately and effectively.

Source: http://www.truecrimereport.com/2010/07/darren_wilkerson_shot_after_th.php