Stand your ground case now called murder

Charges have been upgraded to second-degree murder for a Post Falls man who claimed to be standing his ground when he shot and killed another man last autumn in his driveway.

Prosecutors initially charged 41-year-old William Carlson with involuntary manslaughter, arguing Carlson used unnecessary force when he killed Tyler S. Liles, 24, with one shot to the chest at close range from a .38 caliber Taurus revolver.

Carlson was released on bond after the Oct. 20 incident. But last month, deputy prosecutor Stanley Mortensen indicated he planned to amend the charge to second-degree murder.

After a two-day preliminary hearing in which he heard testimony from detectives and an eye witness, First District Senior Magistrate Robert Burton agreed the evidence supported the amended charge, and scheduled a March 25 arraignment.

According to testimony, Liles appeared angry when just before dark he walked onto an end-of-the road property at 649 S. Gallatin Road west of Post Falls along the Spokane River.

Neither Carlson, his wife nor neighbor Karen Dack recognized the man, who seemed to be asking about a white pickup truck.

Carlson and his wife, who had just returned home, went into their trailer for several minutes but the man did not leave. Carlson, who has multiple sclerosis and walks with a limp, called Dack, a former deputy, and asked her “to back him up.”

Dack saw Carlson confront Liles, who was unarmed and “clearly not right in the head,” according to Dack. “His tone of voice, I could not make any words, was loud, angry and not controlled.”

Dack, who stood partially behind a Subaru in the driveway, talked to Liles, but he did not acknowledge her.

“That made me think that something is wrong with this guy,” Dack said. “His arms were out to the side and waving up and forward like he was gesturing.”

Dack, who also had a firearm, said she kept her gun at the low and ready position without pointing it at Liles, while Carlson stood in a shooting stance with his revolver’s nose pointed toward Liles’ chest.

Despite Carlson’s warning that he was “standing his ground,” the man moved briskly toward Carlson and was between 5 and 7 feet away when Carlson shot once. Liles turned slightly and fell to the ground.

When deputies arrived in the dark at 6:55 p.m., they found a man lying in the driveway, and three others nearby including Carlson, his wife, and Dack. Carlson had placed his firearm on the hood of a parked car.

Although state law allows citizens to protect themselves against threats of bodily harm, Liles was unarmed and did not overtly threaten Carlson, Mortensen said.

“The law requires that any force used be reasonable and not in excess of what is apparent … under the circumstances,” Mortensen said.

Dack, however, considered Liles as posing a danger to Carlson.

“Based on what I saw, he was a threat,” she said, “because of how close he was.”

Defense attorney Sean Walsh said that because of his client’s disability, Carlson would have been unable to protect himself or his family against a threatening Liles.

“He would have lost any fist fight with the 24-year-old that would have occurred,” Walsh said.

Sentencing for involuntary manslaughter may be less than a year depending on the circumstances, while second-degree murder carries a sentence of between 10 years and life in prison.