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Mikey A.'s Self-Defense Story

Discover how USCCA Membership provided critical support to Mikey, helping him navigate legal challenges and reclaim his life.

Location: Connecticut
Charges: Murder; First-Degree Manslaughter With a Firearm
Not Guilty: Acquitted of All Charges
$537,000¹: Legal fees covered

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Michael “Mikey” A. spent nearly three years facing a murder charge after a deadly confrontation outside his restaurant.

Michael “Mikey” A. spent nearly three years facing a murder charge after a deadly confrontation outside his restaurant. And when his case finally reached a jury, a piece of evidence that helped tell his side of the story was there because of advice he’d received long before the shooting.

“Install surveillance cameras.”

It was advice from his USCCA Instructor that would take on a whole new meaning.

Mikey was a restaurant owner. At 61 years old, he had previous law enforcement training and understood the importance of being prepared.

But for more than a year, Mikey said he’d been dealing with threats and harassment from another man. The situation had become concerning enough that his instructor urged him to install security cameras around his business.

Mikey took the advice.

And on August 13, 2022, those cameras would capture an encounter that would change his life … a deadly confrontation.

It was approximately 1:40 a.m. when a dispute involving a towed vehicle escalated outside Mikey’s restaurant.

According to Mikey’s testimony, a 28-year-old man approached him aggressively, making verbal threats and gestures that led Mikey to believe he was armed.

Then, Mikey testified, the man reached toward his waistband.

Mikey believed he was about to be shot.

He drew his firearm and fired twice.

The aggressor was transported to the hospital, where he died.

For Mikey, the attack was over in seconds … but the legal battle was just beginning.

He went from restaurant owner to murder defendant almost immediately.

Police arrested Mikey and charged him with murder, first-degree reckless endangerment and unlawful discharge of a firearm.

His bond was set at $2 million.

A man was dead. Mikey was facing the possibility of spending the rest of his life behind bars.

And the question of whether he had acted in self-defense would ultimately be decided in court.

As the case moved toward trial, Mikey faced charges of murder and first-degree manslaughter with a firearm.

Prosecutors argued that the attacker was unarmed and may have been retreating when Mikey fired.

Mikey maintained that he had feared for his life.

Nearly three years after the shooting, he would finally have the opportunity to tell his story to a jury.

At trial, Mikey described the moments leading up to the shooting and the fear that drove his decision.

"I was scared," he told jurors.

He believed the attacker was reaching for a gun and preparing to shoot him.

But the jury didn't have to rely on testimony alone.

There was surveillance footage.

The cameras Mikey had installed at his instructor’s recommendation had captured the confrontation. Now, nearly three years later, that footage would become part of the evidence jurors considered as they weighed his claim of self-defense.

The prosecution presented its case. The defense presented Mikey’s account.

And the jury had to determine whether the state had disproved self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt.

After nearly three years of uncertainty, Mikey finally had an answer.

Not guilty. On every charge.

Mikey walked away from the courtroom acquitted of murder and first-degree manslaughter with a firearm.

But an acquittal couldn't erase the shooting, the life lost or the years spent facing criminal prosecution.

What began as a confrontation outside his restaurant had followed him into a courtroom nearly three years later.

And one of the most important pieces of evidence in that courtroom existed because Mikey had taken steps to prepare long before the incident.

His USCCA Instructor had recognized the value of documenting potential threats. Mikey had listened.

Neither could have known how important that advice would become.

Because for Mikey, being prepared wasn't only about what happened in those few seconds outside his restaurant.

It was also about having evidence of what happened when those seconds were examined years later.

Surviving an attack is only half the battle.

The legal fight that follows can be just as devastating to your freedom, family, and finances.

Attorney retainer:

$25k–$100k+

Expert witnesses:

$5k–$15k

(each)

Trial & bail costs:

$100k–$500k+

JOIN 870,000+ MEMBERS

When you take advantage of the education, training, and self-defense liability insurance¹ you get with your USCCA^® Membership, you'll be ready for the before, during, AND after of a deadly encounter.

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