Guilty Verdict For Driver In Road Rage Murder Of Derek Flemming
HOWELL (CBS DETROIT/AP) - A jury on Thursday returned a guilty verdict for a 69-year-old man charged with murder in the fatal shooting of a motorist during a road rage incident in Howell.
Jurors deliberated since Tuesday in deciding the fate of Martin Zale in the shooting death of Derek Flemming.
Zale, who claimed self-defense, was found guilty of second-degree murder, two counts of felony firearms as well as a charge of weapons discharge.
The Livingston County jury considered first-degree murder, which carries a mandatory life sentence, but convicted Martin Zale of second-degree murder. He still could face a long prison term.
Zale took the stand in his own defense during the trail.
Authorities called it a tragic case of road rage. Zale shot Flemming last September near Howell, 45 miles northwest of Detroit. Witnesses say Flemming walked up to Zale's pickup truck to complain about aggressive driving while both were stopped in traffic.
Zale said he shot Flemming in self-defense. He said the other driver was "hitting" or "pounding" his truck, so he put his window down and asked what he was doing. Flemming hit him through the window while yelling and screaming that he was going to beat him.
"As he's yelling all this, he's reaching in my truck," Zale said.
Under cross-examination, Zale acknowledged he meant to kill Flemming.
"When you pulled that trigger, you had every intention to kill that man at that moment, correct?" assistant prosecutor Daniel Rose asked.
"I was defending myself," Zale said.
Rose told Zale that was not the question he asked.
"You had every intention to kill that man when you pulled the trigger, correct?" Rose asked.
"Yes," Zale said.
The prosecutor said Zale had "4,000 pounds of protection" - a Dodge Ram pickup. He said Zale should have kept the window up or driven away if he feared the 43-year-old Flemming, and the jury agreed.
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