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Fireworks Dispute Between Neighbors Ends In Fatal Shooting
Garden Grove resident Robert Joseph Price was charged with murder after shooting his neighbor in the face. (Photo courtesy of Garden Grove Police Dept)
A Garden Grove man allegedly shot his neighbor in the face after the victim complained about him setting off fireworks in his backyard.The attorney for Robert Joseph Price claims his client acted in self-defense. Price faces 50 years to life in prison if convicted of the murder of his neighbor, Glen Ray Berry, according to City News Service.
Price made his initial appearance this afternoon at the Westminster courthouse, but did not enter a plea. Arraignment was rescheduled for July 10. Price's bail remains at $1 million.
Price and Berry had "an ongoing dispute," which culminated in the shooting about 1:20 a.m. Friday in the 12600 block of Poplar Street, according to police and prosecutors.
The suspect was setting off fireworks in his backyard, which shares a back fence with Berry's home, according to the Orange County District Attorney's Office.
When Berry went to Price's home and knocked on his door, Price allegedly shot the victim in the face through the closed security screen door. Price told officers that he had been involved in a shooting and pointed them towards Berry's body, according to Garden Grove police.
"To me, it's a pretty straightforward self-defense case," Price's attorney, Bart Kasperowicz, told CNS. The two had already been arguing because Berry had been making noise in the backyard, according to Kasperowicz.
"They started throwing things at each other," the lawyer said, claiming that Berry approached Price's house "in a violent and scary way." He says that Berry was "so angry he tried to knock down the fence" in Price's yard, which "kind of freaked (Price) out."
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While fireworks are illegal in Los Angeles County, according to the Garden Grove city's web site, legal fireworks are allowed in parts of Orange County.
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