The lawyer for a man who allegedly shot a woman through a door earlier this week said Thursday his client was clearly acting in self-defense.
"Most people who believe in self-defense understand what happened here," said Charleston attorney Bill Forbes, who was hired Wednesday to represent Matthew Roohollahi.
Roohollahi, 30, was charged Tuesday evening with the first-degree murder of his uncle's girlfriend, Andrena Smith, 22.
Smith was shot outside the front door of Roohollahi's house on Lakin Street around 1 a.m. Tuesday, according to police. Smith went to the house after hearing someone had shot at the home of her boyfriend's relatives.
Charleston police believe Roohollahi may have mistaken Smith for the person who had shot at his home.
Forbes believes prosecutors decided to file the first-degree murder charge because it's easier to "start at the top" and allow jurors the option of finding someone guilty of a lesser charge, such as second-degree murder or manslaughter.
"Since I used to do it I can't criticize it as much as I'd like," said Forbes, a former Kanawha County prosecuting attorney.
After starting to rebuff Forbes' statements on Thursday, current Kanawha Prosecuting Attorney Charles Miller stopped.
"The only thing I can say is he's entitled to a defense. I'm sure Bill will defend him aggressively," said Miller, who was a longtime federal prosecutor. "I'm limited on the things I can say about a pending case. Certainly this case will move forward as every case does and we'll see what happens. I don't want to delve into our thought process."
Forbes also said he wouldn't speak about details of the case, but did say he planned to vigorously defend Roohollahi.
Detectives said they discussed the case with prosecutors Tuesday before filing the charge.
According to police, Jonathan Bush, 32, of South Charleston, fired several rounds at Roohollahi's home on Sunday and Monday. Bush, who was charged with wanton endangerment Tuesday, and Roohollahi's sister, Omani, had recently broken up, according to police.
Matthew Roohollahi called Kanawha Metro 911 dispatchers to report that Bush had shot at his house. He eventually handed the phone to his sister, who continued to tell dispatchers about Bush, according to court documents.
While she was on the phone with dispatchers, a gunshot was heard, according to a criminal complaint filed against Matthew Roohollahi in Kanawha Magistrate Court.
Omani Roohollahi then told the dispatcher that Smith had been shot outside the residence, the complaint states.
Police wrote that Mark Elswick, Roohollahi's neighbor, told them that he saw Roohollahi fire the shot that killed Smith.
Elswick had gone to Roohollahi's house to check on him after seeing the shots being fired at his house, according to police. He saw Roohollahi walking on the street after his house was shot at with a rifle that had a mounted scope, police wrote.
Roohollahi said "he was ready" if Bush were to return, Elswick told police.
When Elswick went to check on his neighbor, he was led up the stairs directly in front of the door. That's where he saw Roohollahi fire the shot that killed Smith, according to police.
Roohollahi had been lying on the steps with his rifle aimed at the door when he fired, police wrote. Elswick said there hadn't been any noises at the door and that no one had attempted to break in the house before the shooting, according to police.
Roohollahi is being held in South Central Regional Jail without bail.
He recently graduated from law school, according to his public Facebook page. He had been working at Pies and Pints for several months, an employee, who answered the phone at the restaurant Thursday said.
The employee, who didn't want to give his name, described the shooting as a tragic accident and said anyone who knows Roohollahi would agree.
Reach Kate White at kate.white@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1723 or follow @KateLWhite on Twitter.