Jackson, Mississippi

From the Jackson Clarion-Ledger of July 11, 2005

Man claims self-defense in shooting

Case to go before grand jury, Jackson police spokesman says

A Jackson man who fatally shot an acquaintance Saturday afternoon said he acted in self-defense.

Nathan Rouser, 69, of 226 Vandergriff St. was questioned and released by police after shooting Brice Taylor, 39, at the west Jackson intersection of Morson Road and Summer Place at about 4:30 p.m., Jackson police spokesman Robert Graham said.

The case will be presented to a grand jury, Graham said.

Rouser said Taylor and two other men were riding in his car after the group visited a friend's home.

Rouser said he pulled his 1997 Buick Riviera to the side of the road and asked Taylor to get out the car after he began arguing with another passenger. Rouser said he's known Taylor about a year.

"He had a Boy Scout knife and he was about to cut a man in my car," Rouser said. "I opened the door and said, 'Find a way home.' "

Rouser said Taylor got out of the car and Rouser proceeded to drop off the other two men at their homes. But at the intersection of Morson Road and Summer Place, Taylor "came out of the bushes with a pistol," Rouser said.

"I had no other choice but to get my pistol (from) the car floor," he said. "If I hadn't shot him, he would have killed me. He had it pointed in my face. I've been thinking about it all night."

Rouser said Taylor left the scene after being shot. The two other men in Rouser's car also fled. Rouser said he called Jackson police and his wife, who came to pick him up.

Taylor died from a single gunshot wound to the chest, Hinds County Coroner Sharon Grisham-Stewart said. Both weapons were recovered, police said.