BEAUMONT, Texas — The jury is now in the trial of of a 23-year-old Port Arthur man accused in a 2021 fatal shooting.
Stephen Angelle, 23, of Port Arthur, is accused of fatally shooting Jakobi Rubin following a fight in the 1100 block of Liberty Ave in Port Arthur.
In closing arguments defense attorney Tom Burbank told the jury there are no winners in this case because a person is dead.
Burbank said using guns has become so prevalent that people pull out guns to settle matters when it should be "just a fight."
He then told the jury this started as a fist fight between Rubin and Angelle. He described a fight, that then turned into a disturbance that ensued after the fight where guns were drawn.
Burbank told the jury that it is a situation where it was unclear who fired the first shot.
He said in court that the charge is murder, meaning Angelle is only guilty if he intentionally and knowingly caused the death of Rubin. He told the jury that it did not matter if Rubin had a gun, but only that Angelle believed that Rubin had a gun.
The prosecutor said for self-defense the defendant must have believed that using deadly force was necessary to defend himself, and his actions must be reasonable.
He said evidence has shown that he did not need to use deadly force to defend himself, and that the jury should also consider if the defendant’s actions were reasonable.
He told the jury that reasonable people leave if they feel their life is in danger, but he chose to stay.
Opening statements
The prosecution began its opening statements on Jan 30, 2024 in Jefferson County's Criminal District Court before Judge John Stevens.
Officers were sent to the area where the shooting happened just before 1 p.m. on a Monday afternoon, on Dec. 27, 2021 and found Rubin unresponsive according to file stories. He was taken to a Southeast Texas hospital where he was pronounced dead.
During their investigation, police learned that Angelle had arrived at a Southeast Texas hospital to be treated for a gunshot wound to his foot, according to a probable cause affidavit.
When they questioned Angelle, he told police he was shot on the west side of Port Arthur but would not give any more information. Police described Angelle as uncooperative, according to the affidavit.
A witness at the scene told police that the men were fighting before Angelle got a gun from his car and shot Rubin.
Video surveillance showed Angelle at the scene shooting the gun, corroborating the witness's story.
This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.
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