Darrell Evans

A judge has dismissed a murder indictment against a Logan County man, finding that the man used justifiable force when he fatally shot his son last year.

Darrell Evans, 62, of Lewsiburg, had been charged with murder in connection with the death of Richard Evans, 37, who was shot once in the head on Aug. 4, 2022, at his father’s home.

According to prior testimony and court filings, the two were involved in an argument outside the elder Evans’ home about money that his son owed him, and Richard Evans assumed an aggressive posture with balled-up fists before his father went inside the home.

Richard Evans followed closely behind and warned his father against getting a handgun that Darrell Evans kept near his sofa, after which the shooting occurred, court records show.

At a hearing last month in Logan Circuit Court, Attorney Diana Werkman of the Department of Public Advocacy argued that Darrell Evans acted in self-defense when he shot his son, fearing imminent death or serious physical injury after Richard Evans aggressively followed his father into his house.

Logan County Commonwealth’s Attorney Neil Kerr countered that there was enough evidence to show the shooting was unjustified, arguing that Richard Evans was unarmed and had not made physical contact with his father prior to the shooting, and that Darrell Evans showed no fear of harm when he recounted the shooting to police in a subsequent interview.

In a ruling issued Thursday, Logan Circuit Judge Joe Hendricks determined that Richard Evans’ actions when he went inside his father’s home constituted forcible entry, meaning that Darrell Evans was legally justified to use deadly force and was immune from prosecution.

“In the case at hand, Richard was not armed, nor did he break down the door, but he entered the home with threats of violence and death accompanied by menacing gestures,” Hendricks said in the 11-page ruling. “Richard’s conduct when he entered the residence falls within what the law calls forcible entry. Richard was visibly agitated by Darrell’s question about money owed, and he balled up his fists and stiffened his frame while speaking threats of violence.”

Under what is commonly referred to as the stand-your-ground law, a person in Kentucky has the right to use deadly force against the use or imminent use of unlawful physical force by another person when the defendant believes such force is necessary to protect himself against death, serious physical injury, kidnapping or sexual assault.

“Once Richard entered into Darrell’s home, Richard threatened Darrell with death if Darrell did what he was lawfully entitled to do, which is arm himself in his own home in the face of menacing threats to his person,” Hendricks said in his ruling. “In response to the threat of death, Darrell fired the fatal shot.”

The judge’s ruling noted that Darrell Evans is a “frail and unhealthy man with serious heart problems who was facing a confrontation from someone almost thirty years his junior.”

Police found six small bags of methamphetamine in Richard Evans’ possession and an autopsy noted the presence of drugs in his system, court records show.

Darrell Evans had been jailed since his arrest on Aug. 4, 2022, but he was released from custody on Monday to be hospitalized due to a medical emergency involving heart and circulatory problems, according to court filings.