Missouri woman found NOT GUILTY for fatally shooting firefighter while defending felon BF
INDEPENDENCE, MISSOURI: A woman in Kansas was pronounced not guilty despite fatally shooting and killing a firefighter. The incident happened on October 6 in a Kansas City suburb where 41-year-old off-duty firefighter, Anthony “Tony” Santi, got in a fight with a man named Ja’Von L Taylor. As they fought on the ground, an unknown woman, said to be Taylor's girlfriend, took his gun and shot Anthony in the back which caused him to lose his life.
According to the Daily Mail, on October 18, during a hearing at the Jackson County prosecutor’s office, it was declared that the woman would not be charged as her actions were concluded as a reasonable response. Reportedly, it could not be proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the woman broke the Missouri law in any way.
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According to the Daily Mail, at an Independence gas station, Taylor was huring expletives at a female employee in the store as he was upset about the store not having the brand of cigars he wanted. The clerk kept asking Taylor to leave. Santi, who was at the scene, asked Taylor to leave the store as well after which Taylor began threatening him. Both of them then took their fight outside the store.
Later, Taylor pulled out a gun and the two of them began brawling each other over the weapon. A woman, who came to the gas station with Taylor, then arrived near the two men and took Taylor's gun. She was then seen asking Santi to leave Taylor alone.
As per the outlet, according to a statement given by the prosecutors, they expressed their grief toward Santi's family and explained the reason behind the judgment as they said, "We grieve with the family and community at this tragic loss of Mr. Santi’s life. Missouri law applies to this case, particularly self-defense and the defense of others, and we are therefore dismissing the charges after a careful review."
According to the laws of the state, people are allowed to use guns in self-defense if that is a reasonable way to defend themselves or others against deadly force. In addition, Missouri is a Stand Your Ground state, which means one is not required by law to retreat before using defensive force. The author of the book 'Missouri Weapons and Self-Defense Law', Kevin Jamison said, "Technically it's called the defense of justification and your justification is you are saving the life of another person."
However, Taylor, who was already convicted of a felony was found guilty of armed robbery in May 2019, and thus was not allowed to possess a gun. Kansas City Fire Department extended their remorse and said that they were shocked and saddened by the death of Santi, a lifelong Kansas City resident who joined the agency in 2011. "As a close-knit organization, we are shocked by yesterday's tragic loss of FF Santi, and my deepest sympathies go out to his family and friends," said Fire Chief Donna Lake.