MIAMI, FLORIDA — A 28-year-old Florida man is behind bars and is facing attempted murder charges that stem from an incident in which his home was broken into.
Corthoris Jenkins began as the victim, but turned into the aggressor nearly 600 feet from his home.
Corthoris Jenkins, 28, was playing video games in his North-Miami Dade apartment Tuesday when Xavier West allegedly broke into the efficiency unit, the Miami Herald reported. Jenkins grabbed an assault-style rifle and chased West, who was unarmed, from the home, prosecutors said.
Jenkins is accused of shooting West several times while he was on his knees. It was unclear if the men knew each other.
“He begins to, what appears to be, to beg for his life,” Miami-Dade Detective Iry Watson told a judge Wednesday afternoon. “But the defendant takes the assault rifle and shoots him multiple times.”
via foxnews.com
West is currently in the hospital, intubated.
Jenkins originally told police that he blacked out during the incident, but later confessed to a Judge that he knew what he was doing.
He told the Judge that he is the victim, but the Judge disagreed and advised Jenkins to not speak without an attorney.
Did Jenkins give chase? Yea, he gave chase to the tune of almost 600 feet.
The shooting occurred more than 580 feet from the home, Watson said. Jenkins was found by police officers as he walked away from the scene and immediately gave up his weapon, the Herald reported. Investigators found eight bullet casings on the ground.
No matter how angry or frustrated you may be, once the threat is gone, acting in self-defense is no longer a thing. This incident is rather extreme, with Jenkins chasing after the intruder and then shooting when he was on the ground.
There’s really no excuse for that, and its extremely bad form.
Jenkins is likely to spend some serious time behind bars, and reminds us all that we should never chase down suspects who are retreating. Leave your pride behind and be thankful that you successfully defended yourself.
