Prosecutors will not charge a south Minneapolis man who killed another man during a shootout at a late-night party last month.
After reviewing the case against 27-year-old Robert Buckner, prosecutors determined that he was acting in self-defense, according to Chuck Laszewski, a spokesman for the Hennepin County Attorney's Office.
The review found that Buckner shot Pierre Watson, 34, to "protect himself and another" in an exchange of gunfire that occurred in the 1000 block of W. Lyndale Avenue on July 27, Laszewski said. When the gunfire stopped, Watson lay mortally wounded; a short time later, another man showed up at an area hospital with a noncritical gunshot wound to the leg.
"It was a good investigation by the police and good witness statements and it was pretty clear what happened," he said, without elaborating on what specific evidence helped prosecutors reach their decision.
Buckner is still charged with fleeing the police, after he led officers on a high-speed chase through several north-metro cities days after the shooting.
Robbinsdale police tried to pull him over after learning he was considered a suspect in the death and was likely armed, but prosecutors say that instead of stopping, Buckner drove off. He was arrested several miles away in the basement of a Fridley home.
