June trial set for Dearborn Heights man who shot woman on porch
Oralandar Brand-Williams,The Detroit News
January 15, 2014 at 10:15 am

Detroit — A trial date has been set for June 2 for Theodore Wafer, the Dearborn Heights homeowner charged in the shooting death of Detroiter Renisha McBride.

The trial is expected to last two weeks and will include testimony from about 25 prosecutor and defense witnesses.

Wafer pleaded not guilty in court Wednesday before Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Qiana Lillard.

...more at link
http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2014 ... z2qTshkeTP

_________________
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I think it will all come down to what happened to the screen door. If RM pulled it off the hinges, then IMO she was breaking and entering, and TW was justified. Otherwise I think he may be looking at a manslaughter conviction. Murder 2 is clearly an overcharge.

I agree that Murder2 is not deserved, but.... as you suggested in an earlier post... I do think there is a risk in going for a "Self Defence" defence..... Jury could then find him guilty, but 2... if they accept self defence that IMO he is not guilty of Murder or manslaughter..... but 3... if he claims it was "as accidental discharge"... then it seems to me he would be found guilty of manslaughter, but not Murder2..

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
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Trial set for Michigan man who shot Renisha McBride
By AP | Last updated: Jan 22, 2014 - 11:33:59 PM

DETROIT - A June trial is scheduled for a Detroit-area man charged with second-degree murder after shooting a young woman on his porch.

Theodore Wafer was arraigned Jan. 15 in Wayne County Circuit Court about a month after a judge in another court found probable cause to send him to trial. A not guilty plea was entered. His trial is scheduled June 2 and Judge Qiana Lillard expects it to take two weeks

...more at link
http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish ... 1164.shtml

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An EXCELLENT piece by "renewsit"

Different case but some obvious relevance to this case.

Black Youth Knocks on White Man's Door Asking for Help...

Devon Derrick Parker pounded frantically on the door of 69 year old Thomas Sonnenberg at 11:45 a.m., exclaiming that men with baseball bats were after him. Mr. Sonnenberg, a Veteran, quickly dialed 911 for the young man...moments later the young man thanked him with a bullet to Mr. Sonnenberg's head. When Devon saw what he had done, he stepped over Mr. Sonnenberg's lifeless body and focused his attention on Mrs. Sonnenberg, known by her grandchildren as "grandma".

...more at link
http://www.re-newsit.com/2014/02/black- ... -door.html

_________________
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___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

Wow, tks for posting! I had no idea of Renewsit's blog!

renewsit has up dated the story of Thomas Sonnenberg who was killed in his home by Devon Parker.
A key new piece of info is that Parker shot Sonnenberg with his own gun. So yet more parallels with the Zimmerman case, only sadly the opposite outcome from attack by a thug.

Worth noting in the discussion of both cases... compare and contrast the outcomes

This case is worth noting in regards the Wafer/McBride case as well.

It clearly illustrates that it is NOT unreasonable to imagine that a person banging on your door claiming to be "seeking help" is in fact a murderous thug. It was certainly very reasonable for Wafer to assume that. Look at what happens when you wrongly do not make that assumption.



Same Scenario as Zimmerman - Vastly Different Outcome

This case now has much in common with the George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin case:
Both assailants were young men, 17 and 20, and were black
Both victims, men 28 & 69, were white
Both victims were armed when attacked
Both assailants were unarmed
Both assailants attempted to take the gun away from their victim

That's where the commonality ends because:
One victim was successful in holding onto his weapon, shooting his assailant, Trayvon Martin. The media skewers the victim and serves him up as fodder for the angry mobs. He is eventually charged with murder and jailed, twice. His life is now ruined while the assailant's family are still, after two years, banking on their son's inability to take George Zimmerman's gun.

The other victim, Mr. Sonnenberg, was unsuccessful in holding onto his weapon and was murdered with it by his assailant. What is the media saying about this case?

...more at link
http://www.re-newsit.com/2014/02/same-s ... astly.html

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
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With Dunn done for now, this case is already on the Traybot Worrier radar. Twitter is already twittering quietly about it.

Trial is set for June 2

Has anybody got a link to the DOCKET for this case? Or any link to documents.

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

Detroit-area man who killed unarmed woman on porch says judge too cozy with prosecutors
Published April 02, 2014
Associated Press

DETROIT – Lawyers for a Detroit-area man who fatally shot a young, unarmed woman on his porch are asking a rookie judge to step aside and are signaling that the victim's lifestyle should be fair game at a June trial.

Several court filings reviewed by The Associated Press show Theodore Wafer plans an aggressive defense to a charge of second-degree murder. Suggestions that Renisha McBride was on his Dearborn Heights porch simply to seek help after a car crash are "fiction" and "utterly erroneous," says attorney Cheryl Carpenter.

A hearing on some pre-trial motions is set for Friday

There is no dispute that Wafer, 55, shot McBride in the face on Nov. 2. His lawyers insist he opened the front door and fired in self-defense, fearing that the drunken 19-year-old was trying to break into his home before dawn. Prosecutors, however, say he should have called 911 and kept the door shut.

Civil rights groups have suggested race may have played a role in the shooting, but prosecutors haven't presented any evidence to make that connection. Wafer is white; McBride was black.

...more at link
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/04/02/de ... cozy-with/

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

Ruling expected later this month on request for new judge in Renisha McBride murder trial
8:30 PM, April 4, 2014

The presiding judge of Wayne County Circuit Court’s criminal division will decide later this month whether to disqualify a judge from a case involving a Dearborn Heights man accused in the fatal shooting of 19-year-old Renisha McBride on the porch of his home.

Attorneys for Theodore Wafer, who is charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter, filed a motion requesting that Judge Qiana Lillard, a former Wayne County assistant prosecutor, recuse herself from the case, citing her relationship with prosecutors.

Lillard ruled earlier today that she would not disqualify herself from the case.

The matter was then referred to Wayne County Circuit Judge Timothy Kenny, who presides over the criminal division and will decide whether to approve or deny the motion.

...more at link
http://www.freep.com/article/20140404/N ... k-in-court

_________________
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Judge denies request to step down from Renisha McBride case
April 4, 2014 at 1:00 am



From The Detroit News:
http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2014 ... z2yCOdHYLd

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

Defense Signals It Will Question Detroit Shooting Victim’s Past

Lawyers for defendant Theodore Wafer also raised the rookie judge’s links to prosecutors as a disqualifying conflict of interest.

By: Breanna Edwards
Posted: April 3 2014 11:28 AM

The defendant may not be the only one on trial in the fatal shooting of Renisha McBride in Detroit on the night of Nov. 2.

According to the Associated Press, lawyers defending Theodore Wafer are planning to use McBride's lifestyle against her in the trial, which is set to start in June. They are also calling for the current judge, a newcomer to the bench, to step down from the case because of a perceived conflict of interest.

The thought that McBride approached Wafer's house for help after her car crashed is "fiction" and "utterly erroneous," said Cheryl Carpenter, one of Wafer's attorneys.

Hints as to "whether Ms. McBride had a character trait for aggression" are relevant, Carpenter asserted, pointing to text messages, photos, school records as well as any previous police records as materials that could be introduced at the trial, AP reports. Carpenter wants the jury to be allowed to see photos from the young woman's phone that show her with stacks of cash, alcohol and marijuana. There is one blurry photo of McBride holding what could be a gun.

...more at link
http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture ... _past.html

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

It's hard to think of what in her past could be pertinent to this case. Unless she was involved in some previous home invasions.

I think they might well mean past alcohol and drug use. Perhaps aggressive behaviour while "pissed out of her tiny brain" etc

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

Judge recused in Renisha McBride shooting death
Published: Friday, April 25, 2014
By Aysha Jamali
Press & Guide Newspapers

DEARBORN HEIGHTS — Wayne County Circuit Judge Timothy Kenny recused trial Judge Qiana Lillard on Friday in the case of the shooting death of Renisha McBride.

A male prosecutor handling the case had been listed as part of Lillard’s campaign committee and had sold tickets to a fundraiser on her behalf.

“The Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office will not appeal the ruling of Judge Kenny,” said Maria Miller, Wayne County assistant prosecutor. “We will request that the case be blind drawn to another judge.”

Kenny is the head of the court’s criminal division.

....more at link
http://pressandguide.com/articles/2014/ ... =fullstory

_________________
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H/T Nettles

New judge selected in Renisha McBride case
1:18 PM, April 25, 2014
By Gina Damron

A new judge has been assigned to a case involving a Dearborn Heights man accused of fatally shooting 19-year-old Renisha McBride on his porch in November.

Wayne County Circuit Judge Dana Hathaway was blind drawn this afternoon after Judge Timothy Kenny, who presides over the court’s criminal division, granted a motion to recuse the previous judge on the case.

Attorneys for Theodore Wafer filed a motion requesting that Judge Qiana Lillard, a former Wayne County assistant prosecutor, recuse herself from the case. Earlier this month, Lillard ruled that she would not disqualify herself and the matter was then referred to Kenny.

Today, Kenny granted the motion, citing the involvement of a key member of the prosecution team in Lillard’s campaign to retain her seat. Kenny said Assistant Prosecutor Terry Anderson was on the host committee for a fund-raiser.

....more at link
http://www.freep.com/article/20140425/N ... cted-today

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

Well okay, we got a new judge. Now we gotta help work for justice. Any donation sites for Wafer?

July trial date set for Dearborn Heights homeowner charged in shooting death
Oralandar Brand-Williams, The Detroit News
April 30, 2014 at 10:01 am

Detroit — A new trial date of July 21 was set Wednesday in the case of Theodore Wafer, the Dearborn Heights homeowner charged in the shooting death of Detroiter Renisha McBride, during a hearing before a new judge on the case.

The case, expected to last about three weeks, was originally scheduled for June 2. It will include about 35 witnesses from both sides. Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Dana Hathaway is the new judge on the case. She was selected through a blind draw.

But McBride’s family is upset over the latest delay, prompted by scheduling needs for another trial Hathaway is presiding over.

McBride’s aunt, Bernita Spinks, said Wednesday that she was disappointed over the six-week delay in the start of the trial.

...more at link
http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2014 ... z30NrH43TM

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

July trial date set for Dearborn Heights homeowner charged in shooting death
April 30, 2014 at 10:01 am
Oralandar Brand-Williams, The Detroit News

Detroit — A new trial date of July 21 was set Wednesday in the case of Theodore Wafer, the Dearborn Heights homeowner charged in the shooting death of Detroiter Renisha McBride, during a hearing before a new judge on the case.

The case, expected to last about three weeks, was originally scheduled for June 2. It will include about 35 witnesses from both sides. Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Dana Hathaway is the new judge on the case. She was selected through a blind draw.
[....]
The next pretrial hearing in the case is set for June 20.

A motion for a change of venue for the trial’s location also has been filed in the case.

....more at link
http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2014 ... ting-death

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

Maybe the change of venue request is because the likely jury selected from Dearborn Heights will be biased and racist... just as former resident "Sideshow Bob" Mendel suggests? As Bob claims.. they all think the same... just like him.

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light