Anatomy of a Self-Defense Trial

Even in instances of clear self-defense, lawful firearms homeowners can discover themselves on the improper finish of the authorized gun. That’s when their lives rely on an amazing authorized protection workforce.

No one thinks they’re the unhealthy man. And thankfully, for many of us, we aren’t. 

We merely need to go about our lives, make an honest residing, eat nicely, reside in a pleasant house and revel in high quality time with our household and associates. However generally, a scenario arises, an individual or individuals present up who need to disrupt that concord, and it forces us to reply, oftentimes on their ugly phrases. 

Consider a scenario the place a handbag snatcher runs up on a girl who should now battle to maintain her belongings from being stolen or herself harmed, a carjacker who approaches a stopped automotive with a household inside or one thing so simple as a disagreement over work or cash that escalates to a bodily assault. For these individuals who legally carry a handgun for self-defense, in excessive instances, they’ll discover themselves compelled to make that doubtlessly life-altering choice on whether or not or to not use lethal pressure to defend themselves. However what’s the choice? Permit criminals or violent attackers to resolve your destiny?

That was the scenario by which Telluride, Colorado, resident Brian Aitken discovered himself in November 2021, following an altercation with native contractor Andrew Montalvo. Montalvo allegedly started beating on Aitken, knocking him from his entrance step to the bottom. Aitken, who’s bodily smaller than his aggressor and was mendacity injured in his yard because the assault continued, was compelled to lastly draw the handgun he was legally carrying and hearth a single shot that struck Montalvo and instantly ended the assault.

It was then that Aitken’s actual ordeal started. 

Whereas Aitken felt he was absolutely justified in his actions and had no different choices to cease the violence and presumably save his personal life, native legislation enforcement and the judicial system felt in any other case. Aitken quickly discovered himself dealing with a number of prices together with tried second-degree homicide, first-degree assault with a lethal weapon, second-degree assault with a lethal weapon, second-degree assault inflicting critical bodily damage and prohibited use of a firearm and reckless endangerment. That was all from firing a single shot in self-defense.

It was the beginning of a authorized nightmare that might grind by the courts for greater than two and a half years and solid the specter of a life behind bars upon Aitken, who’s married and on the time, had a younger son and an eight-month-old daughter. He and his spouse Jenna have since had one other daughter. 

Luckily for Brian Aitken, he’s a member of U.S. LawShield. And that made all of the distinction.

The Incident

All of it started when a house renovation in Telluride went awry. The Aitkens’ flooring contractor, Montalvo, subcontracted the work to an aged gentleman, which induced a three-month delay. Montalvo then directed the Aitkens to rent one other contractor to help. That November morning, regardless of paying the complete bid quantity, lower than half the work had been accomplished and Montalvo demanded a waiver to launch him from legal responsibility as winter approached. When the Aitkens refused, Montalvo despatched textual content messages stating he meant to maintain all the cash and give up. He then known as Aitken the place the transient, heated dialog ended with Aitken instructing Montalvo to have his subcontractor retrieve his instruments and for Montalvo to avoid his home and household. 

However Montalvo didn’t pay attention. He defied Aitken’s request and confirmed up uninvited, resulting in the confrontation.

In line with Doug Richards, an Unbiased Program Lawyer for U.S. LawShield in Colorado and Aitken’s protection legal professional, the home-owner arrived at his home to satisfy one other contractor, solely to be met by the livid flooring contractor. The change rapidly escalated, and Aitken, standing on his entrance step repeatedly ordered Montalvo to depart his property. As a substitute, Montalvo tried to push previous Aitken and enter the home, which result in the bodily confrontation on the steps of the residence. Montalvo attacked Aitken, punching him a number of instances and throwing him to the bottom. Along with his attacker looming over him, injured and fearing for his life, Aitken drew his hid firearm and shot Montalvo, who later admitted in courtroom to ignoring Aitken’s repeated calls for to depart. He even admitted to legislation enforcement officers that day, in addition to to the jury when the case went to courtroom, that he had initiated the assault.

Conflicting Accounts

The contractor claimed that in the course of the combat, he noticed Aitken pull out a pistol, prompting him to show and flee earlier than being shot from behind. A key eyewitness, one other contractor on the scene, supplied a considerably corroborative account, observing Aitken standing together with his gun in a “low prepared” place after the shot was fired. Nonetheless, essential forensic proof was lacking – the bullet was by no means recovered by police – complicating the case additional.

Aitken’s protection workforce led by Richards, after interviewing Aitken and inspecting the proof themselves, argued that he had fired the shot whereas on the bottom, aiming upwards on the contractor who was standing over him. This trajectory would clarify the lacking bullet, which might not have been discovered on the bottom as initially anticipated. The prosecution’s model steered a straight or downward trajectory, contradicting Aitken’s description of occasions.

“The police by no means discovered the spent spherical. They discovered a shell casing, however they by no means discovered the bullet,” says Richards. “The bullet ought to have been there if this man was telling the reality.”

Constructing the Protection

Richards and his workforce meticulously constructed Aitken’s protection, bringing in a bunch of specialists to help their case. A forensic pathologist testified that the wound’s trajectory was in keeping with an upward shot from the bottom. A scene reconstruction skilled used superior photogrammetry strategies to create a 3D rendering of the incident, offering a visible assist to help Aitken’s model of occasions in the course of the trial. The protection additionally carried out two intense, life-like mock trials to discover how their arguments would play out earlier than a jury earlier than dealing with actual juries in two totally different trials.

The primary trial, set for July 31, 2023, started below intense native scrutiny. Telluride, a quaint and liberal Colorado city recognized extra for its world-class snowboarding, scenic views and high-end retailers, was already predisposed in opposition to Aitken, who had moved to the realm from New York. This bias was evident throughout jury choice, with many potential jurors being dismissed as a consequence of their preconceived opinions or connections to the case. Including to the bias, native legislation enforcement had made false statements on social media, inaccurately claiming that Aitken had been charged with premeditated tried homicide. These statements had been extensively parroted throughout social media and within the information, and regardless of being incorrect, they’ve by no means been corrected and stay public immediately. Many potential jurors had even skilled a faculty lockdown that November day triggered by the incident, both as a father or mother of a pupil or as a pupil themselves.

“We did questionnaires previous to jury choice, so the choose despatched out questionnaires to the jury,” says Richards. “They summoned 300 individuals. 100 and 5 confirmed up, and out of these 100 and 5 that did the questionnaires, like twenty-two might have doubtlessly perhaps have been put by the jury choice course of.”

Judicial Controversies

Compounding the protection’s challenges was a collection of judicial controversies as nicely. The choose within the case had had kids at a close-by faculty that went into lockdown in the course of the incident. Bodycam footage revealed that Choose Keri Yoder had despatched her courtroom deputy to the scene and obtained nonpublic details about the scenario, a truth she didn’t disclose.

Then the judicial facets of the case took a good stranger flip.

“We subpoenaed a bunch of stuff from the city, and the city legal professional swoops in…there’s solely a city legal professional and an assistant city legal professional…however their workplace moved to quash our subpoena,” says Richards. In any case of that, then out of the blue, the city legal professional recused himself from the litigation, however didn’t say why.

“It seems the city legal professional is married to the choose,” Richards mentioned. The 2 have totally different final names so the connection wasn’t obvious. That was additionally one thing the choose had didn’t disclose. Armed with this information, Richards argued for a change of venue.

Judicial Recusal and Venue Change

A movement to recuse Choose Yoder was filed, supported by declarations from authorized ethics specialists, together with a former Lawyer Regulation Counsel for the Colorado Supreme Court docket. Initially resistant, Choose Yoder finally recused herself after the movement and declarations had been filed. The case was then assigned to Choose Mary Deganhart, who presided over the pretrial convention.

Choose Deganhart ordered a jury questionnaire to evaluate whether or not Aitken might obtain a good trial in Telluride. The overwhelmingly unfavourable responses led to a mistrial and a profitable movement to alter the venue to Montrose, Colorado, a extra firearm-friendly jurisdiction. This transfer was pivotal, as Montrose residents had been much less prone to maintain an anti-gun bias in comparison with these in Telluride. They had been additionally much less prone to be accustomed to the case, so might method it with a extra open thoughts, a high quality essential to seating a good jury.

Trials and Protection Technique

The second trial in Montrose started on January 22, 2024, that includes skilled testimonies that supported Aitken’s self-defense declare. A forensic pathologist, a use-of-force skilled, a scene reconstruction skilled and a firearms skilled all corroborated Aitken’s model of occasions. They demonstrated that Montalvo was doubtless 36 to 48 inches from Aitken when the shot was fired, and that the shot had an upward trajectory, in keeping with Aitken firing from the bottom.

After a six-day trial and two days of deliberations, the jury acquitted Aitken of tried second-degree homicide and had been reportedly hung, 10-2 in favor of a whole acquittal on three different prices associated to the usage of a firearm and inflicting bodily damage. The jury’s confusion over the various theories introduced by the prosecution – starting from intentional hurt to reckless endangerment – performed a major function within the impasse. Of their overzealous try to heap prices on Aitken for a single bullet fired in self-defense, that they had muddied the waters so badly, the jury couldn’t make sense of it.

“It’s like they introduced three completely totally different theories,” Richards says. “So, the jury was extremely confused by it. I allow them to have it within the closing arguments about what a multitude their case was.”

Along with plainly presenting the main points of the occasion, the protection workforce even used a number of the metropolis’s personal witnesses to help their arguments.

“We at all times attempt to go along with the grain on a whole lot of the proof,” says Madalia Maaliki, one other legal professional on the protection workforce with Richards. For instance, Maaliki famous how the prosecution made an enormous fuss in regards to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation forensic analyst and what he discovered, however then by no means truly put him on the stand.

“All they relied upon for his or her entire case was eyewitness testimony and cops that had since been fired,” Maaliki says. “We truly placed on their skilled who did the testing for distance on the gun. To us it was like, why are they hiding from the science? Clearly, it doesn’t help what they need you to imagine, and so I feel we gained a whole lot of credibility with the jury calling their witnesses. On the finish of the day, the science doesn’t lie.” 

Remaining Decision

In preparation for a 3rd trial, the prosecution streamlined its technique, focusing solely on a cost of second-degree assault with a concept of recklessly inflicting critical bodily damage. This cost nonetheless clearly conflicted with Aitken’s self-defense declare, which argued an intentional act of self-preservation. There was nothing reckless about his actions.

Nonetheless, this transformation in method by the prosecution compelled the protection workforce to fully retool their technique. 

“This was like defending an entire new case,” Richards says. It required the protection to fully begin over. Trial preparation for this third trial included conducting one other mock trial to see how their arguments would play with a jury.

Recognizing the unpredictable nature of jury trials themselves, the prosecution started dangling the potential of plea provides in entrance of Aitken. The home-owner and his protection workforce additionally acknowledged Aitken doubtlessly confronted a minimal of 5 years in jail if he had been to be convicted because of this new concept. In response, his protection workforce negotiated a wonderful and virtually “unparalleled” plea deal for his or her shopper. Aitken entered a no contest plea to Prohibited Use of a Weapon-Discharging a Firearm, a Class 2 misdemeanor, leading to one 12 months of unsupervised probation. It was an unbelievable plea deal for Aitken given all that he had been dealing with, although the phrases included forfeiting his firearm, surrendering his expired Pennsylvania Hid Handgun Allow and agreeing to not search a brand new allow throughout probation.

As sometimes performs out in felony prosecutions, one or each events oftentimes file civil fits as nicely. Montalvo was no totally different in that he filed a $5 million go well with in opposition to Aitken for taking pictures him. That case was additionally just lately settled for a small sum of cash so Aitken might shut the ultimate chapter of this ordeal. Now, he can lastly inform his facet of the story.

“It was robust not having the ability to inform individuals my facet of what occurred, however it might’ve been used in opposition to me within the trial, so I couldn’t say something,” Aitken says. “I simply need everybody to know my facet of the story lastly.” In reality, Aitken says on the time of the incident, he provided to supply an announcement to police together with his lawyer current, however investigators weren’t focused on what he needed to say if his legal professional was there. To today, greater than three years later, he says, “legislation enforcement nonetheless hasn’t taken an announcement from me about what occurred that day.”

Aitken and his household moved to England to assist develop his on-line firm, Topple, in the UK and the European Union. Topple is billed as “a free-speech digital promoting platform” for everybody, together with the firearms business. Along with his exoneration of the first prices in opposition to him and his courtroom issues settled, Aitken and his household want to transfer again to the U.S. to be nearer to household and Aitken’s American prospects. 

Aitken could also be a well-known identify to some within the gun neighborhood. Previous to this trial, Aitken gained fame among the many gun crowd in 2009 after he was sentenced in New Jersey to seven years in jail for “illegally” possessing firearms that he truly legally owned and that had been locked and unloaded within the trunk of his automotive whereas he was within the means of transferring from one home to a different. Two of the three convictions had been later overturned and dismissed by the appellate courtroom, which discovered the jury ought to have been knowledgeable of federal and state legislation that permits lawful gun homeowners to move firearms whereas transferring. Nonetheless, the courtroom upheld the conviction for transporting ammunition, as there is no such thing as a exemption in New Jersey legislation that permits for the transporting of hollow-point ammunition between one home and one other whereas transferring. This “nonsensical” legislation as Aitken calls it, requires residents to get rid of their lawfully owned ammunition earlier than transferring. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie pardoned Aitken for that cost in 2018 after already commuting his sentence earlier. Aitken wrote a ebook about that have known as The Blue Tent Sky: How the Left’s Conflict on Weapons Value Me My Son and My Freedom.

Grateful

It was after that authentic courtroom battle that Aitken met acclaimed firearms legal professional, Evan Nappen, who can be an Unbiased Program Lawyer for U.S. LawShield and who Aitken credit as being an unbelievable legal professional. It’s from that affiliation that Aitken turned a member of U.S. LawShield and realized of its advantages.

“I admit, I by no means thought I used to be going to wish this,” Aitken says about being part of the U.S. LawShield household. Even after his first incident. “Now that I’ve wanted it, I don’t know the way anybody in the same scenario would be capable to defend themselves with out it. There’s no manner I might’ve afforded the protection I obtained and prevented jail.”

Aitken goes on to say, “An individual shouldn’t need to resolve between, ‘Can I afford this or can I save my life?’ The fact is you might be handled as if you’re responsible, and they’re going to attempt to show it till you might be bankrupt.”

Regardless of all that occurred, Aitken isn’t bitter on life in Telluride. He hopes to return there to reside together with his spouse and kids as a result of they love the city they usually love snowboarding. On the time he was first interviewed, he had simply returned from a ski journey together with his five-year-old son.

“I’m so grateful. I’m sitting right here free, and I get to be with my kids and my spouse each day,” he says, reflecting on what might have been. 

“It was a terrifying scenario, however I’m typically an optimistic particular person. I by no means thought this wasn’t going to work out, particularly after I met Doug and Madalia and the workforce at Richards Carrington who’re working with U.S. LawShield. These guys had been one of the best,” he says. “Each day is an absolute blessing. Each day I get to see my children smiling, it’s actually an absolute blessing.”