Gun Stories Trifiletti Vs Lewis Weekly Edition 8/9-16/2020
Today we look at Trifiletti Vs Lewis. As people we are involved in all kinds of incidents. Some days it may even seem like nothing has gone right. As a result, when the next thing happens it can be overwhelming, and we let our emotions get the better of us. That said, as legal gun carriers we are responsible for keeping those emotions in check when dealing with others.
Especially in cases where the other person is in the wrong. We are the only group of people that is held to a higher standard.We are not only held to a higher standard, but we are also left to answer for every other gun owners mistake. Gun Stories in the news often involve some loss of control over those emotions. Every negative action taken by a random gun owner.
Seems to make others think we should be accountable. As soon as a negative incident happens, there is always some call for gun change. This case is no different despite CCW holders having the lowest crime rate and lowest murder rate out of any group. Anti-gun groups always try to push a narrative that doesn’t support the real data.
Anthony Trifiletti Vs Douglas Lewis
While driving his truck Mr. Trifiletti (24) was instructed to take an exit off the highway by his GPS. While doing so, his right rear bumper was hit by Mr. Lewis’s(39) car. The two pulled over and an argument began. The argument appeared to be due to Mr. Lewis refusing to give Mr. Trifiletti his insurance papers. Instead Mr. Lewis wanted his insurance papers.
During the argument Mr. Trifiletti and his friend said they heard Mr. Lewis say “I’m GD” referring to a gang of some sort. After a period, both men got back in their vehicles and left.
According to Mr. Trifiletti he without meaning to was following behind Mr. Lewis. As a result, Mr. Lewis then pulled over again as did Mr. Trifiletti. Upon stopping Mr. Lewis got out of his car and started to approach the other vehicle.
When Mr. Trifiletti got out of his truck. He had observed Mr. Lewis reaching under his shirt for what he took to be a weapon. Mr. Trifiletti then fearing for his life, pulled out his gun and shot 4 times killing Mr. Lewis. Believing Mr. Lewis was part of a gang at the time. He thought that he was reaching for a weapon to kill him. He then drove off and went home. He later returned based on his fathers advice. At which point he turned himself in.
The Witnesses
To be clear there were witnesses at both scenes. Witnesses immediately called 911 after the shooting and tried to assist Mr. Lewis. Other witnesses that were at the first scene stated they had never heard Mr. Lewis say he was in a gang. It appears only the shooter and his friend can verify this. Then of course there were also witnesses at the second scene. Where one confirmed that Mr. Lewis was walking toward Mr. Trifiletti truck, but stated he never reached under his shirt. The witness also claims that Mr. Trifiletti got into a shooter stance and fired all 4 shots into Mr. Lewis and then drove off.
In the end it was found that Mr. Lewis was unarmed and had just left a family gathering and was on his way home. Detectives asked Trifiletti if he could have avoided the shooting by simply driving away or refusing to get out of his truck. Trifiletti responded that he “didn’t think that was an option” because a car prevented him from backing out and Lewis was already so close. One witness stated that Mr. Lewis’s car was about 50ft behind the truck. Meaning Mr. Trifiletti drove past his car to pull over.
The Laws
In all gun stories in the news, the laws are what will determine whether you are truly justified. In Minnesota where this happened. There is no “Stand Your Ground” laws currently. They also have a duty to retreat standard that has to be met everywhere except in the home. Minnesota requires 4 things to happen for self-defense to be justified.
You must reasonably be in immediate fear of death or great bodily harm to yourself or another. Be a reluctant participant, have no reasonable means of retreat, and lesser force will not suffice. While not ideal criteria, I can see it being possible to form a legal defense under most circumstances. The question then is, does this case meet those standards?
With all gun stories in the news. I can only speculate on if it would meet the legal standards. I would suspect that in this case it would not. The reason I say that is, he didn’t have to pull over a second time and he could have just drove by him. That said, you could make the case that he pulled over just to let Mr. Lewis know he wasn’t trying to follow him. At which point he seen him go for what he thought was a gun and had to defend himself.
Final Thoughts
Mr. Trifiletti has been charged with second-degree murder in the death of Douglas C. Lewis, 39. There was a similar case in Minnesota where a 25yr shot an unarmed 17yr, both of his trials ended in a mistrial. How similar I don’t know at this point, but I believe we should find out. Many of today’s concealed carry classes have some sort of legal aspect to them.
That said, it is always left up to us to find and know the local laws in every area we carry in. I didn’t know will never keep you out of prison. If Mr. Trifiletti did know his local laws he only focused on one when he spoke to the police. He told police that he “thought he was going to die and was afraid for his life.”
Those are some pretty big buzz words to use. Not saying they are not true, just that it almost reads like he was quoting the law. Of course, what else could he have said. Looking at this incident, I don’t believe a training component could be added that isn’t already there, although Minnesota may be different. So, what I am curious about is can anyone make a case proving Mr. Trifiletti innocents in court and is there a training component that is not there that could have prevented this. Comment below and let us know how you believe this could be justified, even if you don’t think it should be.
Disclaimer
As always try to stay focused on the information we have when the article was written. This case also has a huge racial implication behind it. Mr. Trifiletti has some Facebook post that may get the charges upgraded at some point to a hate crime. We are not looking at it from that angle, as our articles are meant to educate us and entice critical thinking from our readers.
Because we get blamed for everything that goes wrong when shootings happen. It is important that we learn from the justified and unjustified cases. We all know the legal definition of self-defense. Yet, not all gun stories follow the legal definition and experts are left to put it all together for a jury.
Every self-defense shooting will require some sort of legal defense. Therefore, it is important for every gun owner to join organizations like the USCCA. The legal battle alone can cost more than we can afford, not to mention the civil one that can sometimes follow. First, we fight for life.Then the fight for our freedom begins. If you like our weekly stories, check out some of the others here. If you would like to see a story added email us the names of those involved and we will get it added as soon as we can admin@rgdreivews.com
