Minnesota man says he thought man he shot was wearing gun holster

[SecularMotion]

NEW BRIGHTON, Minn. -- Neal Zumberge didn’t plan to fatally shoot his New Brighton neighbor Todd Stevens, his defense attorney said Wednesday in the opening statement of his murder trial.

The gun was for protection and the shooting an act of defense, attorney Gary Wolf told the Ramsey County jury deciding the case.

Zumberge saw his wife outside arguing with Stevens’ girlfriend but stayed inside and out of the dispute, Wolf said. When he saw Stevens, who appeared to be wearing a gun holster, approach his wife, he said, Zumberge got his gun and stood outside, watching.

“He would tell you, ‘I didn’t want to be seen, but I didn’t want anything to happen to Paula,’ ” Wolf told the jury.

http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/crime-and-courts/3816604-minnesota-man-says-he-thought-man-he-shot-was-wearing-gun-holster