Family of man shot by neighbor says he was murdered

From KRQE-TV.com - ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - The family of a man shot by a neighbor in a northwest Albuquerque neighborhood says he was murdered. They say the man who shot 23-year-old Jonathan Mitchell was trying to play cop – and ended up gunning down a veteran.
     Police say residents in the Ventana Ranch neighborhood called 911 after Mitchell was seen standing in a neighbor’s driveway holding a gun. The neighbors also called neighbor Donnie Pearson for assistance. Pearson later pulled in front of Mitchell’s house and the two exchanged gunfire – with Mitchell firing first. Mitchell died from the gunshot wound.
     “This case almost mirrors the George Zimmerman case,” said Aaron Mitchell, Jonathan’s older brother and a Florida police officer. “[Pearson] had no business driving around looking for an armed assailant. That's not his job.”
     Mitchell’s brother Aaron Mitchell, a police officer in Florida, says APD was too quick to portray Pearson as a Good Samaritan. “My brother did fire first. But he fired because he saw a threat. He's military trained. He's a combat veteran,” he said.
     The family doesn’t know why Mitchell would have been in the neighbor’s driveway with a gun. “I think if those concerns were valid, I think a reasonable thing for a citizen to do is to call those who are sworn to protect, not take matters into their own hands,” his father Isaac said.
     APD will turn the results of its investigation over to the DA for a decision on charges. Read more

Family of man shot by neighbor says he was murdered