Posted on 06/15/2022 4:13:45 AM PDT by Jim Noble
Family members of murder defendant Isaiah Rivera-Perez and shooting victim Jaiden Connor filled nearly every seat in a Hillsborough County Superior Court hearing room Tuesday morning as a trial opened that will hinge on the state’s self-defense law.
Homicide prosecutor Nicholas Chong Yen showed the jury a home security video that captures Connor, 17, running down Central Street and collapsing, where police found him with a bullet hole in his back.
“He shot Jaden Connor in the back. He shot Jaden Connor while Jaden was running away from him,” said Chong Yen, an assistant New Hampshire attorney general. “That is not self-defense, that is murder.”
Rivera-Perez, 25, faces charges of second-degree murder and reckless conduct in the July 2020 killing. Connor was one of four home invaders who attacked Rivera-Perez, who sold marijuana for a living from inside his home.
They repeatedly pistol whipped him while trying to find his marijuana and cash. Rivera-Perez then shot them as they fled his home.
Defense attorney Charles Keefe showed pictures of a beaten and bloody Rivera-Perez to the jury.
Keefe said the shooting took place just seconds after the four beat Rivera-Perez and threatened him, his wife and two young children. Connor also aimed a gun at Rivera-Perez’s wife.
“Make no mistake about it, they attacked him and his family. They brought war against him and his family,” Keefe said. The attorney also contended that the bullet had entered Connor’s body from the side, not through his back.
The state’s self-defense law allows use of deadly force if someone reasonably believes another person is about to use deadly force against them. New Hampshire law does not require a person to retreat if he is inside his home or surrounding property.
Keefe said Rivera-Perez turned to selling marijuana after getting laid off from his job as a waiter during the early days of the pandemic. His employment benefits were delayed and he needed to do something to support his family.
Authorities found 19 ounces of marijuana, two handguns and $18,000 when they searched his home after the shooting.
The trial is being held in one of the smaller courtrooms at the Manchester courthouse, and relatives and friends of both Connor and Rivera-Perez filled the three benches in the courtroom. During a break, bailiffs worked to keep the two sides separated.
At one point, words were exchanged in the hallway as the Connor family departed.
A jury view of the shooting scene was scheduled for late morning.
You first.
Isaiah Rivera-Perez... Jaiden Connor... Nicholas Chong Yen
The white supremacy just jumps off the page sometimes.
I’ll go first.....play stupid games,win stupid prizes.
“who attacked Rivera-Perez, who sold marijuana for a living from inside his home.”
No good guys in this story.
.
Let’s you and him fight.
.
Seems to me if he was shot in the back, inside the home, it is self defense. I think the Zimmerman defense applies here.
What home invader, officer?
If the perp is on the way OUT of the house after the invasion, then why not???
Not Guilty, with prejudice.
My view of self-defense is very broad.
Not enuff evidence, but on a preliminary basis, I'd go for self defense.
Even a drug dealer shouldn't be attacked in his home where his wife and kids live.
Yes, we have one white hispanic white supremacist. I didn’t see any pictures, but is the dead guy, a black white supremacist? 😀🤭
Jaiden Connor will NOT be coming back to harm the family or anyone else again. FACT.
On one hand, I understand the reasoning that the criminal didn’t pose a threat once he was trying to get away. However, a threat still exists if he is able to leave and then return with reinforcements.
what if he’s turning his back to re-load or grab a machete? gtfoh
Lethal force is justified to prevent an imminent threat of deadly harm, not to punish someone for harm he’s already committed.
Shot in the back of front isn’t relevant. Shot after leaving is.
Did the guy who was shot pose an immediate threat?
I have always thought if someone comes to kill your family (as opposed to selecting a random soft target to steal goods), it’s only a matter of time until they come back.
As a juror, I would allow “Prospective defense of self and family” to forgive shooting in the back with blood running down your face, but wouldn’t go so far as going to an enemy’s house and killing them because of something they might do.
So much for the Anglo-Saxon pure-bred stock of New England.
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