Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge Tommy Nail said he will issue a written order within the next few days for a defense motion, asking that their client be immune from prosecution.
“Don’t read anything into this, one way or another,” Nail told state prosecutors and defense attorneys representing Robert “Bob” Carleton, 48, of Pell City, who is accused of murdering his 67-year-old father, William “Bill” Randolph Carleton Sr. “Be prepared for trial Sept. 27.”
Pell City defense attorneys Erskine Funderburg and Van Davis asked the judge to grant their client immunity from prosecution based upon a 2006 change in the self-defense law of the state.
Funderburg said Alabama is one of 14 states that have “stand your ground” self-defense laws.
He said Carleton was justified in the deadly shooting of his father, if he thought his life was in danger, and his client was not required to retreat.
“The law no longer requires that you retreat,” Funderburg, adding that the defendant had every right to be there on the access road leading to the Carleton farm estate.
Funderburg also told the judge the state’s evidence does not contradict his client’s account of what happened March 23, 2009, when Carleton fatally shot his father with a 12-gauge shotgun.
Funderburg said his client told authorities his father tried to run him over in the Kubota all-terrain vehicle as he stood behind his truck along the access road to the family’s estate.
Funderburg also said Carleton told authorities his father threatened to kill him. The suspect told authorities that he only shot his father after he started to reach for a .22 caliber rifle hanging on a back gun rack of the ATV.
“If you find that Bob was the aggressor, Bill is immune from prosecution,” Funderburg said during Tuesday’s motion hearing at the St. Clair County Courthouse in Pell City.
Nail was appointed to hear the murder case after St. Clair County Circuit Court Judge Charles Robinson recused himself from the case in May. Robinson is involved in the civil case involving a land dispute between the Carleton family. Robinson also has health problems and stated his doctor told him he needed to cut down on his stress.
At the request from members of the Carleton family, the St. Clair County District Attorney’s Office also recused itself from the case.
Madison County District Attorney Robert L. Broussard, of Huntsville, and his assistant attorneys, Jay Town and Tim Gann, are prosecuting the case for the state.
“I’m confident Judge Nail will rule the state’s way, and we will proceed with trial, where we’re just as confident,” Town said after Tuesday’s hearing.
Funderburg was optimistic that the judge would rule in favor of the defense.
“Without any rebuttal evidence from the state, I think the judge has no choice other to find him (Carleton) immune from prosecution,” he said.
However, Town said there is conflicting evidence.
He said the state has a witness “the defense can’t get around.”
Town said a witness told authorities he saw the father and son standing on the dirt road arguing, and the rifle was properly stored in its rack in the ATV, which was directly behind Bob Carleton’s truck.
Town said Carleton’s version of events didn’t include an argument between father and son on the dirt road.
Town also contends that because of the civil dispute, Carleton was only allowed on the family estate to hunt or fish “not to repair a gate.”
Funderburg questions the validity of the state’s witness, noting that the sheriff’s department deputy passed the road where the shooting occurred and had to be flagged down by the younger Carleton.
During Tuesday’s hearing, the defense called St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department Capt. Billy Murray, who was the lead investigator in the case.
He testified about the scene and what Carleton told authorities shortly after the shooting.
The defense also called Autumn Cole, who was the lead crime scene investigator for the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences in Jacksonville.
She testified the shot that killed Bob Carleton went through the metal mesh back screen of the ATV before striking the victim.
Cole testified that she found nothing inconsistent with Bob Carleton’s contention of self-defense.
But Cole later testified that she was “not making a conclusion.”
Contact David Atchison at datchison@dailyhome.com.
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