Michael Hetle was accused of shooting his neighbor of 24 years old. Hetle has been found guilty.
Hetle shot Javon Pratter seven times and threatened his wife with shooting him, who sat by the gun.
Hetle & Prather have been having disagreements since 2016 about seemingly mundane matters like loud music.
On Thursday, a jury found Virginia man accused of shooting his neighbor next door guilty of first-degree Murder.
Michael Hetle (a former officer in the police and NASA executive of 52 years old) shot Javon Prather, 24, seven times. The video was captured by a Ring camera, WTOP reported.
According to local news outlets, Hetle had been fighting with Prather for years over small things like dog poop or loud music. WTOP reported that Hetle called police in 2016 to complain about the barking of Prather's dogs.
Hetle's lawyer argued that he acted self-defense before the jury. Hetle claimed that he believed Prather to be armed and had been threatened multiple times by him before the shooting.
However, the prosecution said that it wasn't self-defense. It was murder in first degree. This is murder with malice or murder with premeditation.
According to local news reports Hetle fired several shots at Prather during March 2020, while neighbors watched. Prather's wife was also among those watching.
According to the Washington Post, Prather knocked at Hetle's front door. Hetle fired six shots at Prather while Prather ran off his property.
Prather fell on Hetle’s driveway. Hetle fired again before turning to Prather’s wife.
"You want it too?" According to the Post, he pointed toward his gun.
Fairfax County prosecutor Lyle Burnham stated that Javon was not wanted to be hurt during the trial. He didn't want Javon leaving. He wanted Javon dead."
WTOP reported that the prosecution also claimed that "racial animus" was a contributing factor to the incident. According to testimony during the trial, Hetle, a white male, had used a racial epithet to refer to Prather who is of mixed race.
Hetle is due to be sentenced January 28. Hetle is expected to be sentenced on January 28 by his attorneys.
Insider has the original article.
