MOHAVE COUNTY — That the defendant shot and killed a man in Golden Valley is not at issue in the trial of Kenneth Carter, though attorneys disagree whether he acted in self-defense or committed second degree murder.
Defense attorney Tom Jones and deputy Mohave County attorney James Schoppmann presented opening statements to a Superior Court jury at the Law and Justice Center in Kingman Tuesday.
The lawyers agree that Carter, 37, and his father made a midnight journey to confront David Roberts, 41, at Roberts’ home on Diabase Drive on August, 2, 2024. The attorneys agreed that the motive for the encounter is unclear, though it could have involved money or a love triangle.
Schoppmann told jurors that Carter and his father pulled up to the property and turned their vehicle around at a gate as they approached the residence. He said that Carter possessed an AR-15 rifle as Roberts exited his home and the pair engaged in argument.
Jones said Roberts was also armed and fired first, discharging a 9 mm round that ricocheted and wounded Carter’s father. Carter opened fire wounding Roberts in the side and back before he died in his driveway.
“Mr. Carter was in imminent fear that Roberts would harm he or his father,” Jones argued. “In that moment, Mr. Carter did what he had to do to protect his life and his father’s.”
Schoppmann countered that it was the Carter’s who were the instigators, traveling to another man’s home at an unreasonable hour before aggressively advancing toward Roberts on foot.
“This was not self-defense,” said Schoppmann, who argued there was no justification for the deadly shooting. He told the jurors they’ll hear a jail house recording of the defendant, bragging about earning the nickname of “AR-Kenny.”
The trial before Judge Lee Jantzen is expected to conclude late Thursday or Friday.
