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The plot thickens. Mr. Levin, who was arrested week before last, has now hired Roy Black to defend him. I guess when Roy is done helping Rush, he can focus on this case, which I think is going to be a bit tougher than clearing the Maha Rushie. The story tells at the end that Mark ran and "collapsed a few hundred feet away in front of another home" in the neighborhood. Mr. Levin's problem and why he will now be paying Roy Black is how he will explain this "self-defense" when it appears he chased Mark and shot him in the back as he ran away from Levin's property. Doesn't sound like a guy in fear for his life. If Levin is to buy his way out of this one, and that's a big IF, Roy Black don't come cheap. Notice Roy Black's spin on Levin's behalf: horrible tragedy for young man and Jay.., didn't intentionally mean to kill somebody. It's awfully hard and expensive to try to explain away shooting somebody in the back and killing them with your deadly exploding bullet when they're running away. Story below:

Boca man charged in prankster's death pleads innocent

Sun-Sentinel
Posted November 24 2003, 2:31 PM EST

WEST PALM BEACH -- A Boca Raton man pleaded innocent Monday to charges that he fatally shot a teenager who was playing a midnight prank at his home.

Jay Steven Levin, a 40-year-old accountant, appeared in court with celebrity attorney Roy Black, best known for successfully defending William Kennedy Smith on a rape charge here in Palm Beach County and as an NBC commentator.

Levin, who is under house arrest, is charged with manslaughter with a firearm in the death of 16-year-old Mark Drewes. He could be sentenced to probation or up to 30 years in prison if convicted.

"This was a horrible tragedy for the young man involved, and for Jay,'' Black said outside of court, minutes after the brief hearing.

Drewes and a friend were knocking on neighbors' doors and running away about midnight Oct. 24 when Levin said he mistook the 6-foot-2 teen for a burglar and "thought he saw something in Drewes' hand,'' according to sheriff's reports. Levin answered the knock on his door armed with a handgun and shot the teen in the back. He then called 911 and told a dispatcher he had just shot "an intruder.''

Black said Levin saw a "menacing figure,'' who appeared to have a gun himself.

"This is not a situation where he deliberately intended to kill someone,'' Black said. "He was defending his home. Today in South Florida we're well aware of all the home invasions, burglaries and robberies.''

Drewes' parents had urged neighbors in their middle-class community to press State Attorney Barry Krischer to charge Levin with second-degree murder for killing their son, particularly since the teen was shot in the back.

Drewes ran from Levin's home and collapsed a few hundred feet away in front of another home in the neighborhood. He died at a hospital hours later from a single gunshot wound.

Prosecutor Al Johnson would not comment on the case.