Reality TV-Show Shooting: Carlos Enrique Barron Claims He Acted In Self-Defense
Carlos Enrique Barron, a 43-year-old special education teacher from North Las Vegas, was sentenced to 90 days in jail and five years probation for a shooting he carried out in 2011 on a crew of reality TV show Repo Games.
The suspect requested leniency from from Clark County District Court Judge James Bixler, pleading with him to spare him jail time, due to the fact that no one was wounded in the reality TV-show shooting.
In order to try and sway the judge, Bennair Bateman, Barron’s attorney, arranged for around a dozen of his friends and family to stand in the courtroom to show their support. Barron said to the judge: “This incident has, yes, changed me. It taught me a lot of things.”
Prosecutor Alexander Chen said that even though a jury acquitted Barron of the most serious offenses against him, namely, two counts of attempted murder and one felony count of discharging a firearm into a vehicle, they found him guilty of felony assault with a deadly weapon, carrying a concealed weapon, burglary, and misdemeanor charges for discharging a firearm.
According to Barron, he was acting in self-defense when he shot at two men who were in a van blocking his driveway, while others were filming just down the street.
Chen said: “He had an opportunity to tell his side of a story. They didn’t believe him because it didn’t add up. When you have a gun and you’re shooting it randomly at people, there is a potential for people to get hurt.”
Because the police found two bullet casings near to Barron’s house, and another one in the middle of the street, they concluded that he had followed the film crew and fired at least one shot at them unnecessarily.
Judge Bixler said that Barron couldn’t expect to get away with the reality TV-show shooting: “You can’t do this and not have some kind of penalty attached,” although he permitted Barron to remain free for the next month or so, pending a status hearing next month.
