SAN ANTONIO – A verbal confrontation escalated to gunfire outside an east San Antonio strip center on the night of April 26, 2017, leaving Jonathon Ashford, 34, dead.
William Perkins Jr., 41, who is accused of the shots that killed Ashford, is now facing trial on a murder charge.
“It’s a classic case of self-defense,” Pat Hancock, Perkins’ lawyer, said Wednesday.
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When asked about the fact that six shots were fired in the incident, Hancock said, “You have the right to exercise your right to self-defense and shoot until the risk or threat is taken care of.”
Hancock said that Ashford’s wife, Stacy, had been involved in a physical affair with Perkins, but the affair had ended, and the couple were only “phone friends” at the time of the shooting.
“The deceased had threatened our client prior to the shooting,” Hancock said.
Prosecutors said the murder was the result of a love triangle, not self-defense.
Testimony is expected to continue Thursday in Judge Lori Valenzuela’s 437th District Court.
If Perkins is convicted, he could face a maximum sentence of life in prison.