Self-Defense Claim Prevails as Jury Finds Ukiah Man Not Guilty in Neighbor’s Death
Facebook post from the Mendocino County District Attorney:
After a day of deliberations, deliberations that included revisiting trial testimony of various witnesses, a Mendocino County Superior Court returned to court Thursday afternoon to announce it had found the trial defendant not guilty of both murder in the second degree and voluntary manslaughter, two different legal characterizations of unlawful homicide.
Clinton Marcus Maxwell, age 48, of Ukiah, had been accused of causing the shooting death of Timothy James Abshire of Redwood Valley in August 2023.
The Abshire family and Mr. Maxwell had adjoining properties off of Webb Ranch Road in Redwood Valley.
The defense presented evidence, including Mr. Maxwell taking the stand and testifying, and then argued during the two-week trial that Mr. Maxwell acted in lawful self-defense.
Under California law, a person who reasonably believes there is an imminent danger of being on the receiving end of bodily injury, who then acts in self-defense on that belief, and uses only the amount of force that a reasonable person would believe necessary to protect against the imminent harm shall be considered not guilty of the unlawful killing of another.
Again, under California law, danger is deemed imminent if, when the person under attack uses force, the danger actually existed or the person under attack reasonably believed it existed. The danger must seem so immediate and present, so that it must be instantly dealt with.
When self-defense is being asserted at trial, the prosecution’s evidence must demonstrate beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant did not act in lawful self-defense. If the prosecution’s evidence does not meet this burden to the satisfaction of the jury, the jury is required to return a not guilty verdict.
The law enforcement agencies that provided investigator testimony and other evidence at trial were the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office and the California Department of Justice Crime Laboratory.
The attorney who presented the People’s evidence to the jury was Assistant District Attorney Scott McMenomey.
Mendocino County Superior Court Judge Keith Faulder presided over the two-week trial.
Earlier:
- Man Reportedly Shot in the Chest After Trespassing Incident in Redwood Valley, Mendocino County
- Man Arrested After Shooting and Killing Neighbor in Mendocino County
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From an earlier press release by the SO, the deceased was trespassing on the shooter’s property and was located “in a remote area of the property on a dirt road” with three bullet wounds to the chest.
What was the trespasser up to and what were they doing just before being shot? Was three shots to the chest reasonable force to stop the perceived threat?
Because “dead men tell no tales” we only have the shooter’s version of events, which calls to mind the old adage:
“Better to be judged by 12 than carried by six.”
Wasn’t the deceased following a water line from his water source to defendants property i swear I read the defendant was taking this family water without permission either way it had a tragic ending one life lost one family destroyed and another left with the life long feeling of taking someone’s life.
Finally someone told the truth. Didn’t the defendent shoot an unarmed man?
The deceased learned what it means to FAFO.
remember the evidence collected for this trial came from the same sheriff department that 5 years prior had shot the same victim in the butt and claimed he was coming at the deputy when he was shot…Then held the victim in county jail without formally charging him for 2 years while running out the clock on the statute of limitations.. and the mendo D.A. /judicial system is ,after all..the same system that gave ex ukiah police seargant Murray a couple years probation for cuffing a 12 year old girl to a motel table and sodomizing her after he discovered her alone in a motel room with 2 meth dealers..He took them to jail..got high on the confiscated meth and returned to kick in the door of the motel and rape the 12 year old child..he confessed and got probation and wasnt even put on the sex offender registry..
the text messages the defendant sent to a friend where he bragged about his plan to get away with luring the victim onto his property were not allowed as evidence.. Nor was the phone record that backed the texted evidence.. The call that was made from the defendant to the victim an hour before the incident.. The victim was lured onto the property by the defendant calling him to alert him that a water line was found leading from the defendants water system to the victims property.. Good ol boy justice once again steers the outcome in favor of a murderer.. But its no surprize when one considers the same court syztem that gave a child rapist police seargant a few years probation for cufding a 12 year old girl to a table and sodomizing her.. Way to go Mendo County..things look great here but its rotting from the inside!!!