No charges filed in May McDonald’s shooting after prosecutor says man shot in self-defense
Ryan Shiner
Editor’s note: The headline and lead have been clarified.
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Boone County Prosecutor Roger Johnson will not file charges in a fatal shooting that occurred in May at the Nifong Boulevard McDonald’s.
No charges will be filed against Ryan Woods. Johnson in a letter to the Columbia Police Department claimed that Woods shot in self-defense after a fit of road rage was reported.
“We have concluded that Ryan Woods’s actions were justified as self-defense and defense of another,” Johnson wrote in the letter.
A man and a woman were shot the afternoon of May 18. Police previously said Derek Gonzalez, 32, of Columbia, was pronounced dead at an area hospital after he and another driver “encountered each other in traffic” that day. The drivers pulled into a McDonald’s parking lot and fired shots at each other, police wrote earlier this year.
“The incident began on Grindstone Parkway near Hawaiian Brothers, where a blue Hyundai Elantra driven by Derek Gonzalez pulled out in front of a black Dodge Caravan driven by Ryan Woods. Woods stated he had to swerve to avoid a collision. Gonzalez then got behind the Caravan and began following Woods and Crawford. Woods continued to the McDonald’s parking lot where he pulled into the drive-through line,” the letter says.
The letter goes on to say that Woods fired a warning shot at the McDonald’s building after Gonzalez punched out the driver-side window of Woods’ vehicle. Gonzalez then fired a shot into Woods’ vehicle multiple times, hitting a woman in Woods’ vehicle.
In an interview with ABC 17 News, Johnson described how he thinks Gonzalez could have felt like he was defending himself following Wood’s warning shot.
“If you’re the initial aggressor in a fight, you can’t use self-defense. So if you start a fight, or start even threatening that you’re going to injure somebody, you can’t use self-defense unless you withdraw and clearly communicate to the other person that you want to end the fight,” Johnson said.
Woods then allegedly got out of the vehicle while Gonzalez had his gun pointed at him, the letter says. Woods then fired a shot and kicked away Gonzalez’s gun, documents say. The letter says Woods then put his gun away in his car and immediately called 911.
Johnson called the state’s self-defense laws broad and emphasized the importance of understanding them.
“In Missouri, if somebody believes that they’re in imminent risk of deadly force, that could be if you’re pointing a gun in their direction,”John said. “Under some circumstances you could open yourself up to getting shot.”
Police at the time claimed that no charges would be filed, but said in May the investigation was ongoing.
“After a thorough review, we have determined the evidence does not support criminal charges against Mr. Woods. This is a tragic loss of life, and our hearts go out to Mr. Gonzalez’s family. At the same time, the evidence shows Mr. Woods acted in lawful self-defense under the laws of Missouri,” the conclusion of the letter says.