DEARBORN HEIGHTS, Mich. – Theodore Wafer was arraigned Friday afternoon in connection with the shooting death of 19-year-old Renisha McBride.
Wafer, 54, is charged with second degree murder, manslaughter and possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony in the Nov. 2 shooting McBride. He must pay 10 percent of a $250,000 bond to be freed from jail.
Court video: Theodore Wafer's arraignment
"I am saying we do not believe he acted in lawful self-defense," Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy told reporters Friday.
---Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy announced charges against Theodore Wafer Friday morning
Authorities say McBride, of Detroit, drove into a parked car in the city around 1 a.m. After her death, tests determined her blood alcohol level was nearly three times the legal limit for drivers in Michigan, a toxicology report said.
Witnesses said she left on foot, bloodied and disoriented, Worthy said. She ended up on Wafer's porch in neighboring Dearborn Heights at least a couple hours later that morning.
Wafer told investigators that he thought McBride was breaking into his home, and that the shotgun accidentally discharged when he investigated, police said.
After 911 was called at 4:42 a.m., McBride was found dead with large shotgun wound to her face, Worthy said.
Investigators believe Wafer, standing in his home, opened the main door and shot the gun through a closed and locked screen door, Worthy said.
Michigan law says a person has no duty to retreat in his or her own home, but to shoot someone and claim legal self-defense, the resident must reasonably believe he or she faces an imminent threat of death or great bodily harm, and must show that the use of force was needed to prevent this, Worthy said.
There was no evidence of forced entry, and this case doesn't amount to self-defense, she said.
Theodore Wafer was arraigned Nov. 15.
