Man accused of shooting car break-in thief indicted for second-degree murder
A Richmond man was indicted today on a second-degree murder charge for shooting and killing someone who was breaking into his girlfriend's car in the city's Church Hill neighborhood.
A grand jury indicted Eric G. Driver, 25, of the 500 block of North 22nd Street, in the shooting death of Jamall Holman, 24, on April 22. The grand jury issued indictments against Driver today for second-degree murder and felonious use of a firearm in the shooting of Holman, who lived in the 1700 block of Forest Glen Road in Henrico County.
Richmond prosecutors say Driver crossed the line by shooting Holman three times to protect property. His defense attorney, John W. Luxton, has argued that Dixon reacted instinctively because his girlfriend was frightened and thought she was in danger.
Luxton could not be reached for comment today.
-- Michael Martz
Reader Reactions
Why is everyone casting all of the blame on the man defending property? Perhaps if the thug wasn’t stealing, he wouldn’t be dead. Certainly some of the fault is his.
dee65: No worries - I wondered because the rest of your post made so much sense! Thanks.
We need to do the same thing Florida.
Enact the “make my day law.“
Best of luck to you Eric - I hope the jury remembers that Holman started this unfortunate situation and when you try to steal someone’s property and threaten someone’s girlfriend - bad things you started - come your way.
citycynic: I meant to say the guy who got shot was NOT innocent, obviously a typo. I personally don’t approve of guns and believe that they should be banned but if you’re going to carry one then you run the risk of going to jail because of a decision that takes someone else’s life. You can take someone’s life in any number of ways so I guess we’d have to ban a lot of things such as knives,vehicles,etc. Again this is a no win situation for all involved.
dee65: lots of good points but just to clarify - the man who was shot was not innocent. It was reported that he was indeed breaking into the car. I’m not saying the shooting was justified but Jamall Holman definitely wasn’t “innocent.“
The law limits how guns can be used for good reason - PEOPLE ARE IDIOTS!
This guy is going to go to jail b/c of a CAR BREAK IN! Not b/c of a threat of physical harm to him or his girlfriend…b/c of a car break in! Please grow up people - if it wasn’t the robber that was going to be shot, it would have been someone else b/c obviously this guy reacts with emotions instead of brains.
Sorry that this all occurred…as deee65 said…a NO WIN situation.
Sorry to say, he deserves jail time…
I’m not an advocate of guns but at the same time I don’t know how I would react to something like this if I did have a gun. Previous stories said that the girlfriend’s vehicle had been broken into earlier in the day and that the man that was shot was wearing a mask, these are two very important points. I’m sure the jury if this goes to trial will look at both sides. I know one thing I probably would have reacted the same way and when your adrenaline is going no one knows exactly how they’ll react. The man that died obviously was innocent and Mr. Driver now has to live with the fact he took a life and will possibly pay with his life behind bars because of a split second decision. Yes, he could have called the police and then what? If the masked man would have had a gun and Mr. Driver didn’t then the story would have been different. So either way no one wins and they’re all losers. The constitution says we’re free to carry firearms but the law limits how we can protect our property with those firearms, no win situation.
Of course guns are a danger. Does that mean we should outlaw guns? The person that would shoot when they’re disrespected or insulted would not give up their gun if they were banned.
This is a clear example why guns are a danger. Yes, “guns don’t kill people-people do”, however, you never know when someone is “insulted”, “disrespected” or “threatened” and might turn to deadly force. Yes, the robber could’ve had a gun too but all that was gained here is a dead person and another person going to the slammer. Why didn’t this guy just call the police?
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