SHOT AT THIEF, NOW FACES TRIAL
Did a south suburban storeowner fire at a fleeing thief in selfdefense?
Or was he engaging in a reckless act of vigilante justice?
The answer may come in August when Dawoud “David” Zoubeidi is scheduled to stand trial on felony weapons charges for firing three shots at a man who sprinted out of his Calumet City store with stolen leather jackets.
Zoubeidi apparently didn’t hit the thief, who dropped the jackets and escaped in a waiting car. He and his attorney, Patrick O’Byrne, said he was justified in firing his .40-caliber pistol. Zoubeidi claims the thief flashed a pistol in his waistband first.
“He had the right to defend himself,” O’Byrne said. “The anti-gun climate punishes the law-abiding citizen.”
Cook County prosecutors feel otherwise. They have charged Zoubeidi with reckless discharge of a firearm and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.
Prosecutors declined to comment about the case.
Zoubeidi said he thinks he was charged because he fired his gun outside the store across the street from an elementary school.
O’Bryne said no children were in jeopardy because his client fired in the opposite direction of the school, which he said is proven by a bullet that struck a wall.
Legal experts said a prosecu- tor’s decision to charge a suspect who wields a gun to commit a crime is usually straightforward. But the decision about whether to charge a homeowner or a businessman who fires at a bad guy is not always as clear-cut.
“Prosecutors are allowed and encouraged to exercise discretion — and in doing so they don’t have to merely follow the letter of the law, but they have the opportunity