Charges Dropped Against Iowa Man By Prosecutor

By Tom Knighton

Yesterday, I wrote about the troubles of Mr. Michael Hodges. He was charged with attempted murder after he reportedly used his firearm in self-defense. He had a concealed carry permit and promptly went to police after the shooting. By contrast, the other party in the shooting was using a stolen gun, hand no permit, and had already pled guilty to lesser charges stemming from the incident.

But a judge denied Hodges’s request for charges to be dismissed under Iowa’s Stand Your Ground law.

Luckily, the prosecutor in the case used his own discretion and dropped the charges.

A Cedar Rapids man who sought immunity under Iowa’s stand-your-ground law after authorities say he shot and wounded another man won’t go to trial — not thanks to the controversial law, but because the Linn County Attorney’s Office asked the court Wednesday to dismiss the charges.

“After a thorough review of the evidence, especially the video, I believe Michael Hodges Jr. was justified in drawing his weapon and shooting,” said Assistant County Attorney Monica Slaughter, who took over the case this week.

Surveillance video from downtown cameras, which captured the January shooting outside a bar, shows the other man — Zevon Johnson of Urbandale …Read the Rest

Source:: Bearing Arms