{"id":50910,"date":"2014-04-24T13:50:52","date_gmt":"2014-04-24T20:50:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theavtimes.com\/?p=50910"},"modified":"2019-02-07T14:27:02","modified_gmt":"2019-02-07T22:27:02","slug":"accused-killer-testifies-claims-self-defense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/2014\/04\/24\/accused-killer-testifies-claims-self-defense\/","title":{"rendered":"Accused killer testifies, claims self-defense"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Scott<\/a>
Scott Shipley, 57, was arrested for murder May 15, 2013, shortly after shooting to death 39-year-old Acton Water Co. owner Christopher Demyen (right). Testifying in his own defense Wednesday, April 23, Shipley said he shot Demyen because he feared for his life.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

LANCASTER \u2013 \u00a0On May 15, 2013, Acton Water Co. owner Christopher Demyen<\/strong> was shot to death after a dispute \u201cover a vehicle parking issue\u201d in the 1500 block of Eagle Butte Road, authorities said.<\/p>\n

Scott Shipley<\/strong>, the 57-year-old pest control operator on trial for Demyen\u2019s murder, told his side of the story in an Antelope Valley courtroom Wednesday. Shipley claims he drew his revolver and shot 39-year-old Demyen in self-defense, after being “bludgeoned” with a tow hook.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was really scared,\u201d Shipley told the jury.<\/p>\n

Testifying for several hours Wednesday, Shipley carefully described the sequence of events that led up to the deadly confrontation.<\/p>\n

Shipley said he had picked up his daughter from school and was driving back to his Acton home when he noticed a water truck blocking the shared driveway leading to his residence.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The shooting happened a little before 2 p.m., May 15, 2013 in the 1500 block of Eagle Butte Road in Acton.(Photos by LUIS MEZA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The water truck driver signaled that he would be about 20 minutes; and Shipley claims he shouted to the driver to unkink the hose so that the process would move faster.<\/p>\n

Shipley said he called the number on the water truck to complain, and as he was leaving a message, an angry male voice (presumably Demyen) came on the line and hurled a string of expletives.<\/p>\n

Shipley claims he hung up the phone; but the person called him back, twice, with \u201calmost incoherent\u201d \u201cout of control\u201d rantings.<\/p>\n

At that point, Shipley said he left his pickup truck in the roadway, and he and his daughter walked up the hill to their home.<\/p>\n

Once at home, Shipley changed clothes before taking his .38 revolver from the safe, loading it with bullets, and placing it in his back pocket, according to Shipley\u2019s testimony. Shipley said he warned his children not to answer the door and then walked back to the scene to retrieve his pickup truck.<\/p>\n

As he walked toward his pickup truck, he heard the sound of another vehicle \u201csliding out of control\u201d as it came on the scene, Shipley testified. The driver (Demyen) exited the vehicle with a tow hook in hand, and attempted to attach the tow hook to the back of Shipley\u2019s pickup truck, according to Shipley\u2019s testimony.<\/p>\n

Shipley testified that he was frozen in shock, and he claims Demyen said: \u2018You motherf**cker! Move that f**king piece of sh*t! I\u2019m gonna f**k you up and kill you!\u201d<\/p>\n

Shipley claims he walked over to Demyen and said, \u201cdon\u2019t take my truck\u201d; and then Demyen grabbed him by the shirt and began striking him in the face with the tow hook.<\/p>\n

\u201cI could hear my bones break,\u201d Shipley testified, claiming he did not fight back. After taking a fist to the nose, \u201cI drew my revolver and shot him,\u201d Shipley said.<\/p>\n

Shipley testified that, after the shooting, he \u201cstaggered\u201d to his neighbor\u2019s house for help.<\/p>\n

\u201cI said \u2018he just tried to kill me with that tow hook, get an ambulance,\u2019\u201d Shipley testified.<\/p>\n

Shipley\u2019s defense attorney, Adam Kopperkin, showed the jury a picture of Shipley taken in the days following the incident. Shipley appeared to have two black eyes and bruising on his nose.<\/p>\n

Accused killer: \u201cI\u2019m pretty much a celebrity\u2026 I am iconic.\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n

During cross-examination, prosecutor Thomas Trainor poked holes in Shipley\u2019s self-defense story.<\/p>\n

Shipley did not have a concealed carry permit and had taken no weapons training; he did not render aid to a dying Demyen or call authorities to report the shooting; and he had bragged about being a celebrity on a jailhouse phone call made just days after the shooting, Trainor pointed out during cross-examination.<\/p>\n

Asked why he stuffed a loaded revolver in his back pocket before returning to the scene to retrieve his vehicle, Shipley said it was standard procedure for him to carry a loaded weapon on his expansive property. He said he carried the gun to protect himself from roaming wild animals.<\/p>\n

Asked why he did not call 9-1-1 to report the shooting, Shipley said he was trying to regain his senses and he could not control the buttons on his cell phone. However, the prosecutor presented Shipley\u2019s cell phone, which showed eight calls made in the minutes following the shooting \u2013 none of them to 9-1-1.<\/p>\n

Asked why he did not render aid to a dying Demyen, but went home instead, Shipley said he had to check on his children. He said his children may have been in danger, not from Demyen, but from the \u201csurly\u201d water truck driver.<\/p>\n

The prosecutor also played audio recordings from two phone calls Shipley made from jail on May 23 and 24, 2013.<\/p>\n

On the first call, Shipley tells a giggling female: \u201cAt least you have a high-profile father. I\u2019m [a] celebrity, and that\u2019s good. Most of the people here are so nice to me. They\u2019re treating me like a brother.\u201d<\/p>\n

Testifying in court Wednesday, Shipley claimed he could not recognize the female voice on the recording. The prosecutor played a second jailhouse phone call, this one with three people, including Shipley, on the line. Shipley could be heard saying: \u201cI\u2019m pretty much a celebrity\u2026I have a certain notoriety here\u2026 I am iconic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Further, Shipley boasts about being able to see the respect on the deputies\u2019 faces, and \u201cloving\u201d the attention.<\/p>\n

Shipley said he could not recall whose voices were on the recording. He said the phone calls did not show a lack of remorse. Rather, he said a certain amount of notoriety was necessary for his safety in jail.<\/p>\n

The trial continues Thursday.<\/p>\n

UPDATED 4\/25\/14<\/span>: Scott Shipley was found guilty of second-degree murder today. Read our latest story here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Previous related stories:<\/p>\n

Business owner shot dead after dispute, suspect in custody<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Memorial established for slain Acton business owner<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LANCASTER \u2013 \u00a0On May 15, 2013, Acton Water Co. owner Christopher Demyen was shot to death after a dispute \u201cover a vehicle parking issue\u201d in the 1500 block of Eagle Butte Road, authorities said. Scott Shipley, the 57-year-old pest control operator on trial for Demyen\u2019s murder, told his side of the story in an Antelope […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":36722,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1492,719],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50910"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50910"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50910\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36722"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50910"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50910"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50910"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}