Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Canyon County, Idaho

From Nampa’s Idaho Press-Tribune of February 27, 2007
Man not guilty in road-rage shooting

Public safety: Motorist maintained he acted in self-defense during fatal Caldwell incident

A jury found Aniceto Betancourt not guilty of manslaughter Monday after four days of testimony in the road-rage shooting death of a 19-year-old motorist. Patrick Wayne Ciarmoli died of multiple gunshot wounds March 27, 2006, after Betancourt shot him in the parking lot of a business center on Happy Day Boulevard in Caldwell.

Police said the two men had been involved in a “road rage” exchange along Nampa-Caldwell Boulevard before the shooting.

Betancourt has maintained since the incident that he acted in self-defense, saying he feared for his life as Ciarmoli approached holding an object, possibly the bottom half of a pool cue. Defense attorneys said Betancourt believed the long, black object was a shotgun. Jurors reached the verdict just a few hours after deliberations began Monday.

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