An Oregon insurance agent has been acquitted of charges for shooting a homeless man who attacked and threatened him.
Golden Key Insurance owner Charlie Win Chan will not be prosecuted according to a grand jury after shooting and killing Jason Gerald Petersen, a homeless man, last month.
Local media outlet The Portland Mercury said in a report that the court decided Chan was justified in killing Petersen, who was found to be suffering from schizophrenia, which impairs proper judgment and distorts behaviour.
Petersen was found to be hoarding belongings outside Chan’s place of business and became upset when Chan disposed of them. A statement to the police by Chan said “Petersen threatened to kill him and burn down his business.”
Petersen then left, and Chan was said to have followed him and shot him in the abdomen once, killing him. Chan then called for emergency services, police said. Chan is licensed to carry a concealed weapon.
The publication noted that “officers could have elected to put a mental health hold on the man; potentially getting him reconnected with medication (that) family members said had helped him in the past.”
