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Jan 17, 2007 2:15 pm US/Central
Man Won't Be Charged For Killing Girlfriend's Ex
Buffalo, Minn. (WCCO) ―
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Police investigation revealed Erik Richter had brought leg irons and handcuffs when he broke into Samantha Simons' house and was shot by her boyfriend.
CBS
The Wright County prosecutor has decided not to press charges against a Rockford, Minn. man who shot his girlfriend's former boyfriend in December.
Eric M. Cegon, 30, shot 35-year-old Erik A. Richter, of Watertown, Minn., twice with a shotgun early in the morning of Dec. 13 when Richter broke in through a back door into the Rockford home of Samantha E. Simons, 21.
According to Wright County Attorney Thomas Kelly, the relationship between Richter and Simons turned abusive, culminating with a charge of domestic assault filed in April 2005.
When Simons began a relationship with Cegon in September 2006, Richter began threatening both of them.
"He refused to let her go, and said that if he couldn't have her, nobody would," Kelly said.
Richter was charged with making terroristic threats and inflicting criminal damage to property on Nov. 6 of last year after he broke all the windows on Cegon's vehicle and tried to climb through his bedroom window, yelling his intentions to kill Cegon.
As a result of the incident, Richter was ordered to have no contact with either Simons or Cegon and was ordered to not possess or use firearms. Simons also applied for an additional restraining order against Richter.
Richter violated the order when, according to Kelly, he allegedly threatened her with a knife on Dec. 6. Due to the incident, a pick-up order was placed for probable cause felony assault. A court date was set for Dec. 13.
Cegon and Simons went to bed the evening of Dec. 12 prepared for a visit from Richter. They barricaded the front door of Simons' house with a small sofa, locked themselves with Simons' son in an upstairs bedroom and blocked the door with a dresser.
Cegon armed himself with a shotgun.
At 3:30 a.m., according to Kelly, Richter broke through the front door of the house and ran upstairs, forcing open the bedroom door and knocking down the dresser. He had in his hand a loaded, .45-caliber Colt semi-automatic handgun.
Later investigation revealed Richter had also brought leg irons and handcuffs.
Cegon shot Richter twice.
According to Kelly, the state law allowing a person to defend himself with necessary deadly force in his home if he feels threatened by an intruder applied to Cegon's case.
"Did Cegon have an honest and reasonable belief that he or Simons were in imminent jeopardy of great bodily harm or death? Yes," said Kelly in a press statement. "Was Cegon's use of deadly force necessary to avert great bodily harm or death? Yes.
"In this case, the state has the burden to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Cegon was not justified in using deadly force," he continued. "Based upon the facts, I am unable to meet that burden and therefore no criminal charges will be filed against Cegon."
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