INDIANAPOLIS–A man who police say shot another man who was trying to steal his car Thursday morning has been charged with murder. Indianapolis Metro Police say Dustin Phipps tried to steal Anvictor Butler’s Chevy Malibu when he went inside a gas station to pay, and Butler came out, pulled his Glock .357 and shot two rounds into the driver’s side of the car, killing Phipps.
The gas station is a Marathon on the south side of Indianapolis at Southeastern and South Emerson Ave.
Police said the car drifted down the street and hit a chain link fense. Butler at first chased the car, then went back to the gas station.
He called a lawyer and turned himself and the Glock in later in the day.
If Butler had been defending himself or if someone had been in the car, he might not have been charged with murder.
“Someone is justified in using reasonable force to protect themselves or others but only when they reasonably believe unlawful force will be used against them,” said Jody Maderia, a professor from the Indiana University Maurer School of Law, talking to our newsgathering partners at WISH TV.
“It is not enough that someone is stealing your car or it is not enough that someone is stealing your television you actually need to believe that this person is going to endanger yourself or another third party,” she said.
Butler is expected to face a judge Friday.
WISH TV’s Richard Essex contributed to this story. LINK: WISH Story
