Slayton v. Mcdonald

690 So.2d 914 (1997)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Fourteen-year-old Daniel (D) and fourteen-year-old Slayton (P) had a disagreement while riding the school bus to their neighboring homes. P was the larger of the two boys and was attending high school. D was attending junior high school. P threw a piece of paper at D. After D threw the paperback P threatened to come to D's house. D testified he had heard that P had won fights against people larger than himself and that P could 'take care of himself pretty good.' P arrived at D's house. After shouting a warning to P, D went into his house, got his twelve-gauge shotgun, came back outside and loaded the gun with #7 1/2 shotshells. P still refused to leave. P claimed he did not see D load the gun. D retreated into his home and called 911 to request help. The front door of the D home did not have a lock, and anyone could open it from the outside. P came inside D's house. The transcript of the 911 conversation confirms that D told P to leave several times, to no avail. D warned P that if he kept coming, he would be shot. D testified that P frightened him because 'he had a crazy look in his eye. I didn't know what he was going to do after he didn't stop for the gun, I thought he must have been crazy.' D counted to three and shot P in the knee. P sued D claiming $43,310.51 in medical costs and had lost $1,349.00 in wages. The trial court found P the aggressor and that D acted reasonably. P appealed.