A Portland jury has rejected a $10 million lawsuit brought by a man who was shot three times while breaking into an Army veteran’s countertop shop, siding with the veteran who fired on him.
Jurors in Multnomah County Circuit Court in Oregon sided 10-2 with James Grant, 72, on Aug. 18. They found him not liable after a trial that lasted about a week. The verdict spares Grant from paying $5 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages that Voyles sought.
The jury deliberated for only a few hours before reaching a decision, according to The Oregonian. They determined that Kenneth Voyles, 43, prying a board off the building, cutting metal bars, and wiggling through an old doggie door to get inside was a “substantial factor” that contributed to his wounds.
Voyles broke into Touchstone Granite & Marble before dawn on March 6, 2023, entering through a damaged garage bay door, according to Oregon Live.
Grant, who held a concealed weapons permit and had been living in a back room of the shop to save money, confronted him and shot him three times, striking his arm and torso.
He suffered a collapsed lung and shattered bones that required multiple surgeries. Grant was never criminally charged.
Both Sides of the Story
The two men described the encounter very differently at trial.
Voyles alleged in his lawsuit that he apologized when Grant found him and tried to flee, but that Grant threw a cup of urine and heavy tiles at him, left the room to retrieve a handgun, then returned and opened fire.
He also claimed, as reported by KPTV Oregon, that Grant told him, “You’re going to die, dude,” before shooting him at close range.
Grant testified that he confronted Voyles intending to hold him at gunpoint for police, whom he said had not responded to previous break-ins at the shop.
He said he fired only when Voyles raised a pair of bolt cutters over his head and moved toward him. “I didn’t want to do deadly force,” Grant testified, according to Bearing Arms. Grant added that he was an Army veteran who had fired thousands of rounds at ranges and was trying to protect himself.
Guilty Plea Wrapped in a Question of ‘Dwelling’
Much of the case turned on facts that were already settled.
Voyles pleaded guilty to first-degree burglary of a dwelling and was sentenced to five years in a drug-treatment program, along with more than a year in prison for an unrelated string of car break-ins.
References to a dwelling were central to the civil trial. Oregon law provides stronger self-defense protections in a home than in a business.
Grant maintained that he was defending himself where he both lived and worked. He had previously received zoning violations for living in the building.
Grant’s attorney argued he was within his rights to hold Voyles for police and fired only when he believed his life was in danger. Voyles’ attorney argued that Grant could have retreated into a locked room when he left to retrieve his handgun, rather than returning and opening fire.
Read the full article here