Bradley v. Hunter

413 So.2d 674 (La.App. 1982)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

D testified that J. W., a twenty-eight-year-old man, came into the 'Honeydripper' around 9:00 to 9:30 P.M., wanting to purchase a soft drink. D is sixty-five years old, in poor health, unmarried and lives with her eighty-two-year-old mother, Ora, who owns the cafe. No one else is employed in the cafe. The cafe sells food, a little beer, and no hard liquor. D had trouble with J. W. on at least two prior occasions and told him not to come into the cafe. J. W. entered, and D refused to serve him. Ora offered J. W. the 'coke,' but he refused. J. W. began to threaten and curse D. She told him to go home. D kept Smith & Wesson Model 10 .38 caliber revolver was kept under the counter near the cash register. When J. W. finally left, D picked up the gun. Ora went outside to see if J. W. had gone. D saw J. W. coming toward her, walking rapidly, with his arms flailing away, fists clenched, and cursing and threatening her. D then pulled the gun from her blouse pocket and told J. W. not to come to the cafe. D fired one warning shot (probably two, as three shots were fired but only one hit J. W.), and fired again whenever J. W. kept coming, walking fast, cursing and threatening D. She fired from about thirty feet away; the bullet struck J. W. in the head, killing him. J.W. had threatened D in the past and that J.W. had previously shot a man in the back with a shotgun and had spent considerable time in jail and was violent with other people as well. P’s widow sued D, and the trial court dismissed the charges. The judge held that J.W. was a dangerous person acting in a dangerous manner and that J.W. made D shoot him. P appealed.