Veteran accused in shooting at Washington grocery

The jury will decide if it is self-defense or not but the press has already begun the conviction. When it is a veteran, they make sure the public knows but when the person charged belongs to another group does something, they don't see fit to mention they belong to a bowling league or whatever group they are involved with. Imagine the headline of "sports fan accused of robbery."

Veteran accused in shooting at Washington grocery acted in self-defense, attorney says
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
About Bobby Kerlik
Staff Reporter
Published: Monday, May 12, 2014

There's no question an Army veteran of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq fatally shot a man in a Washington County parking lot, his attorney told a jury on Monday, but jurors should acquit him because he did it in self-defense.

The trial of Brandon Thomas, 32, of Upper St. Clair began in Washington County before a crowded courtroom. A jury of six men and six women must decide whether the former staff sergeant was justified in killing Vaughn Simonelli, 55, of Chartiers after a driving incident on Oct. 18, 2012, outside the Shop 'n Save in Washington.

Thomas is charged with homicide and three counts of possessing drug paraphernalia.

Calling Simonelli an “angry, deranged person,” Thomas' attorney, Frank Walker, said his client was defending himself following an argument that Simonelli started.

“As a self-defense-trained veteran, he pulls out a lawfully concealed firearm to defend himself,” Walker said of Thomas.

Prosecutors don't see it that way. First Assistant District Attorney Chad Schneider is seeking a conviction of first- or third-degree murder or manslaughter. He said Simonelli was shot once in the shoulder and once in the back.
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