The state Court of Appeals ruled that a man convicted of first-degree murder in the shooting death of his landlord’s son is entitled to a new trial because the presiding judge failed to instruct jurors about a possible self-defense argument. Ronald Wayne Vaughn Jr. was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the 2017 killing of Gary Somerset. The incident occurred after Somerset yelled at Vaughn and rushed at him on the porch of the trailer Vaughn was renting. Vaughn argued that he acted in self-defense, but the jury was not properly instructed on the state’s “stand-your-ground” law.
Vaughn used a Winchester .410 caliber shotgun with a sawed-off barrel in the shooting, which is a felony due to the weapon’s potential for concealment and destruction. Vaughn was also convicted on that count. The “stand-your-ground” law in North Carolina states that a person is justified in using force when they reasonably believe it is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to themselves. However, the law cannot be used in some cases when the person was committing a felony at the time of the incident.
Following a state Supreme Court ruling, which narrowed the exception to the “stand-your-ground” law, the Court of Appeals found that the trial judge erred in not instructing the jury on this provision during Vaughn’s trial. The prosecutor also erroneously told jurors that the stand-your-ground provision did not apply in the case. Judge Allegra Collins wrote in the opinion that the jury should have been informed of this provision, as Vaughn’s use of deadly force may have been justified. Judges Hunter Murphy and Valerie Zachary agreed with Collins’ opinion.
Before the shooting, Somerset’s mother had given Vaughn notice to leave the trailer, which he ripped up. Vaughn attempted to call 911 with his iPad but was unsuccessful. He told Somerset and his mother that they were the ones who needed to leave from the porch. The appeals panel also found no error in Vaughn’s conviction for possessing a weapon of mass death and destruction, resulting in a prison sentence of almost 2 1/2 years. Vaughn will now be resentenced in light of his pre-trial confinement credits. The evidence presented at the trial could have supported a jury determination that Vaughn’s use of deadly force was justified, and there was no causal nexus between the felony possession of the weapon and his use of force.