ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, February 9, 1996 TAG: 9602090085
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: LEESBURG
SOURCE: Associated Press
A man who shot a drunken neighbor in a dispute over unruly teen-age skateboarders was acquitted of first-degree murder Thursday by a jury who believed he acted to save his life.
Robert Lorenz admitted shooting Duren Wayne Eldridge but said he acted in self-defense when Eldridge provoked and insulted him.
Lorenz cried and hugged his family after the verdict in Loudoun County Circuit Court. Eldridge's widow, Peggy, fled the courtroom without comment.
``I speak for the Lorenz family when I say their hearts go out to the Eldridges,'' defense attorney Mark Shaffer said. ``They have spent many a night crying about this tragedy and the loss of a father and a husband.''
Shaffer said his client cannot comment because the Eldridge family has filed a $3.7 million lawsuit against him.
Eldridge, 31, confronted Lorenz, 54, on the older man's porch April 9 after a day of escalating tension between them. Lorenz testified he was scared and confused by Eldridge's rantings and threats.
Eldridge was angry because Lorenz a few days earlier had called police to report that a teen-ager visiting Eldridge's household had damaged Lorenz's prized flower garden.
Lorenz said he does not remember firing the fatal shot to Eldridge's chest. A defense psychologist testified Lorenz was so gripped by fear he could not control himself or think rationally.
Prosecutors said Lorenz was in no danger from the unarmed Eldridge and had several opportunities to back down from the confrontation.
``It's obviously a verdict I'm disappointed in,'' Commonwealth's Attorney Robert D. Anderson said. ``Looking back on the case there is nothing I would do differently.''
Jurors heard six days of evidence in the case, including conflicting stories from both families, eyewitnesses and neighbors in the Leesburg subdivision. Much of the testimony centered on whether Lorenz was truly in fear for his life or acted in anger.
Lorenz said he fired a .380-caliber semiautomatic pistol only after Eldridge moved to come into the house. Lorenz' wife was in another room calling police during the confrontation.
Eldridge had spent the Sunday afternoon of the shooting drinking beer and working on his boat, neighbors said. When he died, his blood-alcohol level was 0.19, more than twice the limit considered legally intoxicated, according to an autopsy report.
Throughout the afternoon, Eldridge had complained loudly that Lorenz was a coward and talked about fighting him over the police call, witnesses said.
At one point, Eldridge swore and made a lewd remark to Lorenz' wife as she stood in her driveway, witnesses said. He also encouraged a teen-age friend to ride his skateboard in front of Lorenz's house to aggravate the older man, and changed into a T-shirt featuring a pit bull to intimidate Lorenz, witnesses said.
``Given Mr. Eldridge's state, there was no other way this could have resolved itself,'' Shaffer said.
He said the decision affirms his view that self-defense does not always mean waiting until a fight escalates to blows or worse.
The jury, which deliberated about 12 hours over three days, had the option of convicting Lorenz of a lesser charge. He faced up to life in prison if convicted of first-degree murder.
The shooting culminated months of bad blood between the quiet, fastidious Lorenz and the raucous family renting the house across the street, neighbors said. On the day the Eldridges moved in, their dogs relieved themselves on Lorenz's yard; later, a car parked in Eldridge's driveway rolled backward into a Lorenz vehicle, neighbors said.
The teen-agers who congregated at the Eldridge household were a constant irritation to Lorenz - flipping their skateboards over his curb and damaging bushes and flowers, neighbors said.
Neighbors on Loundsbury Court have generally sided with the Eldridge family. Several testified they don't believe Eldridge planned to hurt Lorenz, who was known as meticulous and straight-laced.
Betty Comerford, who lives next door to the Eldridge house, called Lorenz' acquittal unfair. ``He fired a weapon. He deserves to pay something for that,'' she said.
The jury heard a one-sided view of a neighbor she said was helpful and friendly to neighborhood youngsters. ``This guy that died was not a drunk. He was not a bully. He was a nice guy,'' she said.
Eldridge's widow continued to live across the street from the Lorenz family until last month. Lorenz will return to his job at the Federal Emergency Management Agency and has no plans to move, his lawyer said.
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