Sanford, North Carolina

From the Sanford Herald of March 29, 2006

Dawson cleared

It took a jury only 2 1/2 hours Tuesday to decide that Horace Dawson was not guilty of murder in the shooting death of Richard Raab.

Dawson, 68, has been on trial for the past week in connection with the shooting, which happened the morning of Oct. 24, 2004, at the intersection of Mc Leod Drive and Wicker Street.

Dawson never denied that he shot and killed Raab, who had been his neighbor on Pendergrass Road for the past nine years. His attorney, Jonathan Silverman, con­tended throughout the weeklong trial that Dawson acted in self­defense.

“It’s been a nightmare, but I feel freer right now than I have in a long time,” Dawson said after the trial. “You’re never sure of anything, but we were pretty confident throughout. I had the best lawyer in North Carolina, and that’s where you’ve got to start.” Silverman said, “Mr. Dawson is a very nice man and his family has been through a lot. We think the jury made the right deci­sion.” Assistant District Attorney Mike Beam had argued throughout the course of the trial that Raab was shot not out of self-defense, but of anger that developed over a six-year period of acrimony between the two that started when Raab accused Dawson of sleep­ing with his then-wife. Dawson had repeated­ly denied that accusation.

“This defendant was not scared. He was mad,” Beam said. “The defendant said he feared for his life. Where’s the proof of that? He said it because he had to. Because it’s the only way to consider what he did (was) self­defense.” The incident that left Raab dead started with Dawson driv­ing on Wicker Street toward Kiwanis Park. He noticed Raab — who had made a habit over the years of following and badger­ing Dawson — waiting for him at Winterlocken Drive. As Dawson passed, Raab pulled out from behind him.

Witness testimony indicated that the vehicles both pulled onto Mc Leod Drive and were involved in a minor accident, which led both men to get out of their vehicles. Aphysical alter­cation began, and ended with Dawson producing a .38-caliber revolver and shooting Raab five times in the chest and head.

Dawson then got in his truck, drove home and dialed 911.

Silverman argued to the jury that Raab brought the shooting on himself with his years of taunting and harassing Dawson and his wife, Jackie. Testimony from a variety of witnesses indicat­ed that Raab would yell at Dawson any time he saw him in the yard of his home, direct speakers at the Dawson home and blare loud music, fire shots from a rifle into Dawson’s outbuilding, throw dead squirrels into the Dawsons’ yard and point a video camera at their home.

Much of the harassment was in an effort to draw Dawson into a physical confrontation, which led Dawson to buy the gun he eventually used to kill Raab, Dawson testified.

The core of Silverman’s argument was that Raab’s reason for being on Mc Leod Drive on Oct. 24 justified his shooting.

“Once you understand what Richard Raab was doing on Mc Leod Drive that morning, you can understand why he was shot. You can understand why Horace Dawson was acting in self-defense. And you can understand why Horace Dawson is not guilty of any crime,” Silverman said. “Richard Raab ulti­mately forced Horace Dawson to act in defense of his own life.” Superior Court Judge Frank Lanier presided over the trial.