A Michigan man who was captured on surveillance footage shooting at a teen was convicted of assault.
Jeffrey Zeigler, a retired firefighter, was charged with attempted murder. However, he was convicted of a lesser charge and a gun-related crime, The Associated Press reported on Oct. 12.
Video footage shows a black teen walking up to Zeigler’s porch. Then, he’s seen running away before Zeigler emerges from the door and fires a shotgun.
The video was captured via Zeigler’s own home security camera system.
The jury had “determined Mr. Zeigler did not intend to kill Brennan Walker,” said defense attorney Rob Morad, NBC News reported.
Zeigler could face as long as 10 years in prison, NBC reported.
Regarding whether he will appeal the conviction, Morad said, “There are issues we need to look at, and we’ll decide when the time comes.”
The teen in the video wasn’t hurt. He was reportedly lost while on his way to school and knocked on Zeigler’s door to ask for directions.
Zeigler said that he woke up and heard his wife’s screams, and she told a courtroom that she thought the teen, Brennan Walker, 14, was trying to break into their home.
“I was trying to explain … that I wanted to get directions to go to my school,” Brennan told WDIV about the incident.
“When I saw that video … I was shocked,” detective Shawn Pace said in court on Oct. 9, the Oakland Press reported. “I knew which direction I had to go,” he said. “I was offended by what I had seen.”
Zeigler also gave a conflicting interview, Pace said. “He took a big drink of water, looked at me and said, ‘I’m tired of being a victim,’” Pace said in court. “That was it.”
Zeigler stated that he meant to fire the shot as a warning, saying that his foot slipped. “I felt extremely remorseful and I was just shocked,” he said, Fox2 reported.
He noted that he would have given Walker a ride to school if he could relive the moment.
Wife’s Statement
Zeigler’s wife, Dana Zeigler, said she was getting ready for work during the April 12 incident when she saw a teen wearing a skull cap. “What are you doing on my porch?” she asked him, according to a prior Epoch Times report.
“I am on my way to school,” his wife recalled the teen telling her. Brennan, she alleged, opened their storm door and tried to open the inner wooden door.
In 2004, Zeigler was convicted of firing a handgun at a motorist during an incident.
From The Epoch Times