Sorry but that is a pathetic excuse. If you are afraid go in the store and lock the door. The clerk was already on the phone to the police and if not he should have been.
Was he in any way concerned that the shots that he fired at the vehicle might have gone awry and hit some innocent person in the line of fire???.
“fled the convenience store in his Volkswagen Jetta after the teenagers left because he was afraid they would return,”
Here is more from his lawyer’s statement, given earlier:
“He was also concerned with leaving the area because he didn’t know if these gang members, what they were, who. He’s in a strange town. He doesn’t know if they’re on their cellphones saying, ‘Hey, come back and get this guy in the Jetta.’ He just wanted to get to a safe place and try and figure out what to do.”
This is very close to the advise that I have taught in my concealed carry course. Do not stay at the scene if you feel you are still in danger. Get to a safe location, then call the police.
There are plenty of neighborhoods where I would “flee the scene” after a shooting so that I would be sure to survive to contact the police.
I know nothing about the neighborhood where the shooting occured, but I think many jurors can relate to the reasonableness of the fear.