John Doe was legally justified in using deadly force. No charges will be filed

[Roland45]

Just a snip from our local 69 news station here in the Lehigh valley. 07/05/2023

ALLENTOWN, Pa. - Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin is releasing more information about a fight in early June at an AutoZone that ended with a 22-year-old man being shot and killed.

Edgar Gonzalez, 22, suffered a gunshot wound while involved in an altercation on June 4 in the parking lot of the AutoZone at 1871 South 5th Street in Allentown, according to a news release from the district attorney's office.

The Lehigh County Coroner, Daniel A. Buglio, ruled Gonzalez’s death a homicide.
An investigation revealed that two groups of people had an altercation and confrontation on at least two occasions leading up to the shooting, the DA's office said.
One group was in a Kia sedan and included five people, including Edgar Gonzalez and Joshua Ortiz, 27, of Allentown, according to the DA's office.

The DA's office says the second group included six adults and a 3-year-old child at AutoZone. However, initially at a restaurant, there were two men and one woman in the Honda.

The occupants of the white Kia were the aggressors in the altercation and followed and confronted members of the second group, blocking their vehicle at the drive through of a restaurant on S. 4th Street, the DA's office said.

In this incident, Ortiz got out of the Kia with a semi-automatic handgun with an extended magazine and confronted the second group, the two men and a woman, while they were inside a Honda, according to the news release.

The driver of the Honda reversed away from Ortiz and during the process, crashed and disabled the Honda. The driver parked the Honda and the three occupants fled and hid at the Auto Zone parking lot about a half-block north of the restaurant where they called family members to come pick them up, according to the DA's office.

Ortiz and the occupants of the Kia continued to look for the group and are seen on video searching the inside and outside of the restaurant, the DA's office said.

A Nissan pickup truck arrived at the AutoZone to pick up the occupants of the Honda. Inside the truck were three adults and the 3-year-old child. The two men and one woman from the Honda joined these occupants; thus forming a group of six adults and the child, the DA's office said.

One of the adults inside the Nissan pickup truck is being identified as John Doe. His name will not be released because he is not being charged in the incident, the DA's office said.
Meanwhile, the occupants of the Kia continued to look for the second group and ultimately drove through the AutoZone parking lot where they saw the Nissan pickup truck and recognized the people inside as part of the group they had confronted earlier, according to the news release.

The DA's office says the Kia circled through the parking lot and blocked the Nissan pickup truck. All five people inside the Kia exited the car and approached the truck.

A physical altercation started and the investigation showed Ortiz produced the same handgun he had at the Taco Bell and started shooting at the occupants inside the Nissan pickup truck, the DA's office said. Several shots were fired and at least one bullet struck the Nissan, but no one in the vehicle was hit by this gunfire.

The man identified as John Doe was in legal possession of a handgun and fired back at Joshua Ortiz, according to the DA's office.

Based on a full review of the evidence, including video, John Doe was legally justified in using deadly force to protect himself and the occupants of the Nissan, some of whom are his family members, the Da's office said.

No charges will be filed against him.

The death of Edgar Gonzalez occurred while John Doe was justified in using deadly force and his death, although a homicide, is being ruled by DA Jim Martin as a justifiable homicide under the laws of Pennsylvania.

There is no evidence that Edgar Gonzalez had a gun or fired a gun at anyone in the Nissan, however; he was the driver of the Kia and was an accomplice and co-conspirator with Joshua Ortiz in the actions which took place at both locations, the DA's office said.
Edgar Gonzalez was also in the direct line of fire between John Doe and Joshua Ortiz when he was struck by a single bullet fired by Doe which killed him, according to the news release.

John Doe was interviewed after the shooting and provided investigators with the gun used and the documentation establishing his ownership of the gun and his right to carry the gun, according to the DA's office. An examination by a ballistics expert concluded that the projectile that killed Edgar Gonzalez was fired by John Doe from his gun.

Joshua Ortiz was also struck by a bullet fired by John Doe, the DA's office said. Ortiz was treated for a gunshot wound to the torso and released from a local hospital. The gun Ortiz used in the shooting has not been recovered during the investigation.

As a result of the investigation, Ortiz has been charged with attempted homicide, aggravated assault, and related charges for his role in firing at the people in and around the Nissan pick-up truck in the AutoZone parking lot, the DA's office said.

Ortiz surrendered Wednesday in the company of his attorney, Eric Dowdle, and will be preliminary arraigned through Central Booking.

[JAKIII]

Good shoot. However, John Doe should NOT have talked to police without his US Law Shield lawyer present.

[free]

1). Why isn't the Perl also charged with murder of the dead guy, under the felony murder statute?

2). Why the fuck are they so hung up on whether Doe owned the gun or not? What if he didn't have "documentation" ? I don't have "documentation" for anything I own. So the fuck what? Why is the presumption on Doe to prove he owns ANYTHING? Fuck that. Prove he doesn't!

3). Too bad Doe didn't get all five of the assholes.

[GunLawyer001]

1). Why isn't the Perl also charged with murder of the dead guy, under the felony murder statute?

2). Why the fuck are they so hung up on whether Doe owned the gun or not? What if he didn't have "documentation" ? I don't have "documentation" for anything I own. So the fuck what? Why is the presumption on Doe to prove he owns ANYTHING? Fuck that. Prove he doesn't!

. . .

The surviving thug s/b charged in the death of his accomplice.

Whether Doe was unlawfully in possession of the gun is relevant to the Stand Your Ground law, and the presumptions/burden of proof.

[Bang]

Doe a citizen covered by the 2nd amendment? PA citizen covered by the commonwealth's constitution?