Albany County Circuit Court Judge Robert Sanford agreed with the prosecutor that there was probable cause that Kelver committed assault.

Last September, Ríhanna Kelver was standing outside the Crowbar & Grill in Laramie, Wyoming, preparing to start her bartending shift, when she noticed a group of men across the street. One of them was shouting in her direction, and Kelver heard several homophobic and transphobic slurs as he began approaching her. Moments later, according to court testimony and surveillance footage, the man shoved Kelver to the ground hard enough to injure her tailbone.

Kelver responded by drawing a pistol from her bag, chambering a round, and pointing the weapon at the man who had pushed her. She kept the safety on and never fired. The man and his companions retreated.

Today, Kelver, a 28-year-old trans woman, faces two felony charges—aggravated assault and possession of a deadly weapon with unlawful intent—which could carry up to 15 years in prison. The man who shoved Kelver and who allegedly initiated the confrontation, known only as “S. Durham,” has not been charged.

  • Sunflier@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
    0·
    6 days ago

    Sounds like it works as intended.

    The evidence is such that no reason reasonable jury could find the facts of the case represent anything other than self defense:

    Video evidence confirms that Kelver was alone, outnumbered, physically assaulted, and left on the ground facing multiple aggressors.

    Thus, the victum would be entitled to having the case dismissed as a matter of law by the evidence on hand. Hell, the prosecutor could just drop the case.

    • MareOfNights@discuss.tchncs.de
      0·
      6 days ago

      OK, but where is that evidence? I haven’t seen it, and for some reason they don’t give a source on that. This may be an insane case, but this article is slop.

      • Sunflier@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
        0·
        6 days ago

        Article:

        Moments later, according to court testimony and surveillance footage, the man shoved Kelver to the ground hard enough to injure her tailbone.

        • MareOfNights@discuss.tchncs.de
          0·
          5 days ago

          Found a second article with more sides of the story.

          When police reviewed area cameras, they saw Kelver approach Durham in the crosswalk and Durham push Kelver, the affidavit says.

          This would make who escalated a bit less clear. If you have a weapon you can’t escalate a situation and then use it.

          I still expect this to end in not guilty, but it should get reviewed by a court. I mean, a gun was pulled.

          Also the charges were moved down to misdemeanors, but back up to felonies after “negotiations broke down”, can you do that??