Man claims self-defense in killing of mother’s boyfriend
COLUMBUS, Miss. (AP) – The attorneys for a Columbus man accused of shooting his mother’s boyfriend to death say he shot the victim in self-defense.
The Commercial Dispatch reports 22-year-old Derrick Nelson is on trial in Lowndes County for murder in the death of Willie Hood Jr.
Nelson shot Hood at Nelson’s residence during a party in May 2013. He turned himself in after the shooting.
Nelson’s attorneys, Brandon Langford and Donna Smith, say Hood was drinking at the party, and broke a bottle during an argument with Nelson and started hitting his own car and acting belligerently.
Columbus police investigator George Harris testified that Nelson told authorities that he had a gun in his hand when Hood approached him and they started wrestling and the gun went off.
The trial continues Thursday.
