Will Savanna Retheford & Hunter Fuqua face charges in shooting death of Sean Six? Tulsa prosecutors to weigh Stand Your Ground doctrine which allows the use of lethal force in ‘self defense’ if the shooter perceives imminent threat to life.
Oklahoma prosecutors continue to mull whether to bring charges against a man and a woman alleged to have shot dead a Tulsa father of three who sought to make entry to his own home early Tuesday morning, after having packed his belongings earlier on Monday.
Tulsa Police say evidence currently suggests a deadly shooting involving Sean Six in south Tulsa may be a case of self-defense.
Investigators say the Tulsa County District Attorney will ultimately decide whether charges should be filed.
Sean Six threatening messages in the hours prior to home break-in
Tulsa Police say investigators searched Six’s phone after the shooting and found ‘threatening messages’ he had sent throughout the day to his girlfriend (Savanna Retheford) along with the shooter, who social media identified as Hunter Fuqua.
‘Throughout the day, he had sent several text messages to his girlfriend, to the shooter, threatening them,’ said Captain Richard Meulenberg with Tulsa Police according to Newson6. ‘Threatening physical violence on them, and apparently, he was doing this throughout the day to other people as well.’
Police say Six, 27, lived at the home where the shooting occurred but had packed some clothes and moved out Monday, several hours before the shooting early Tuesday morning. According to social media, Six had apparently found out that his ‘on and off’ again girlfriend had purportedly cheated on him with Fuqua and had left the home he shared with Retheford to ‘cool off’.
Investigators say just on Tuesday 2.30 a.m, Six returned to the home and had tried to enter through a window before kicking in the front door.
Upon making entry, Six encountered not only Retheford but Fuqua who she had allegedly invited over to ‘protect her’ from the wrath of Six. Prior to the boyfriend returning, Retheford had changed the locks to the residence.
‘He comes into the house, bypasses the girlfriend, goes back and finds the shooter and goes to the back bedroom and that’s where he gets shot,’ said Capt. Meulenberg according to Newson6.
Stand Your Ground doctrine
The case now hinges on whether probable cause exists before an arrest can be made. Had the shooter feared for his life upon Six entering the home, especially in context of the boyfriend having sent a series of threatening texts in the hours preceding?
‘If you boil that away, the emotional stuff, then we are talking about the actual situation where he kicks in the door, he goes after somebody, then he gets shot by that person,’ said Capt. Richard Meulenberg. ‘In Oklahoma, we’ve got Stand Your Ground, you’ve got Castle Doctrine, you’ve got all sorts of things that give you the right to defend yourself, but there are nuances in this case that the DA is going to have to consider as they decide where to go with it.’
Stand Your Ground allows the use of lethal force if one believes an imminent threat to their lives exist at the time of an intrusion or assault.
The controversial law allow individuals to use deadly force in self-defense without the duty to retreat from a threat, provided they are in a place they have a legal right to be.
The alternative to stand your ground is ‘duty to retreat’. In jurisdictions that implement a duty to retreat, even a person who is unlawfully attacked (or who is defending someone who is unlawfully attacked) may not use deadly force if it is possible to instead avoid the danger with complete safety by retreating.
The Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office will review the case to determine whether charges will be filed.
