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LIBERTY — A man convicted for shooting another man on the sidewalk more than three years ago received a fair trial, the N.C. Court of Appeals ruled this week.
Stewart Whitaker, 38, admitted to shooting a man he believed was lingering in front of Whitaker’s house the night of Jan. 7, 2021, but he and the man who was shot, Chris Tompkins, had wildly different stories about what happened.
According to court records cited by the Court of Appeals, Tompkins maintained he had spent much of that Jan. 7 at a friend’s house. About 9 p.m., Tompkins was getting ready to leave, but his car would not start. He walked to his parents’ house to get his father’s jump box to get his car started and was walking along the sidewalk back to his friend’s house when he heard Whitaker behind him ask what Tompkins was doing in his yard.
The two argued about whether Tompkins had stepped into Whitaker’s yard, and Tompkins felt a pain that he later determined was a gunshot wound. Whitaker then turned around, ran to his car and drove away.
Tompkins required treatment in the hospital for three days and has a permanent scar and possible nerve damage from the gunshot.
But according to Whitaker’s testimony, he pulled into his driveway about 8 or 8:30 p.m. and saw three people standing near his neighbor’s home. About 10 minutes later, one remained in front of Whitaker’s house and the other two were nearby.
Whitaker put on his jacket, which had a gun in one of the pockets, and went out to be sure his vehicle was locked. Outside, he walked within approximately four feet of Tompkins and asked, “[C]an I help you? ... I don’t know what you got going on, but me and my kids and my family live here. This is my home.”
Whitaker testified that Tompkins got close to his face and said he lived around the corner. Tompkins pointed behind Whitaker, and as Whitaker looked to see where he was pointing, Tompkins punched him in the face. Whitaker fell to the ground, and Tompkins grabbed him by the coat. Whitaker said that Tompkins was reaching into his coat pocket, and Whitaker fired one shot because he thought Tompkins was going to kill him.
On Oct. 5, 2022, Whitaker was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury. He was sentenced to 20-36 months in prison and was released from prison last month.
On appeal, Whitaker argued that the judge should have instructed the jury on the Castle Doctrine, which entitles anyone defending his or her house to use lethal force.
But the Court of Appeals cited the judge’s finding that “there was no evidence or testimony even from the Defendant that he was protecting his home,” only that he felt his life was in danger. Therefore the judge’s instructions to the jury, which included the use of force in self-defense, were proper, the court ruled.
