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Charges have been dismissed against a woman accused of fatally shooting her boyfriend who she believed was an intruder breaking into her home in Salt Lake City, Utah, per the Atlanta Black Star.
Lashawn Denise Bagley, 23, was previously charged with murder in connection to the 2022 death of Demetrius Allen, a bull rider who performed under the name Ouncie Mitchell.
The incident was initially investigated as a domestic violence homicide. Detective Michelle Peterson previously said Allen was trying to collect belongings from Bagley's apartment on September 12, 2022 when he was shot by the woman. Allen was found in Bagley's apartment with gunshot wounds and was taken to a local hospital where he later died.
Last week, Judge Mark Kouris ruled that Bagley was justified in the shooting. Kouris noted that Bagley had the legal right to defend her home.
Bagley's charges, including nine counts of felony discharge of a firearm, one first-degree felony, and eight third-degree felonies, were dismissed.
“She was justified in shooting the gun,” Kouris said during a justification hearing.
During the hearing, Salt Lake Police Detective Nathan Wiley testified that Bagley called 911 on the night of the shooting because she thought her home was being invaded.
Bagley had left her home with Allen and a second woman at 9:30 pm to go to a club and returned alone around 11:30 pm. She made a disturbance call to dispatchers just after midnight. More testimony showed that Allen and the woman tried to enter Bagley's apartment twice, once with the credit card and another time with a rock.
“LaShawn owned the gun. She had every right to protect herself in her own house,” Defense attorney Sherry Valdez said.
Salt Lake County Deputy District Attorney Andrew Deesing argued that Bagley didn't have "reasonable fear," citing text messages between her and Allen where he said he was coming to get his belongings from her home.
The judge, however, said Bagley only needed to perceive a home invasion to justify self-defense.
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