Emilio Vasquez v. Kurt Jones, Warden

OPINION

COOK, Circuit Judge.

Emilio Salomon Vasquez appeals the district court’s denial of his habeas corpus petition. We reverse and remand with instructions to grant the petition.

I. Facts and Procedural History

In 1995, a dispute at a block party between Deondre Byrd and William Taylor escalated into a shootout in which an inno cent bystander, Tamara Stewart, was killed. Vasquez told police investigating the crime that when the melee erupted, he grabbed a .22 caliber rifle from William Taylor and fired it in self-defense. No weapons were recovered from the scene, but forensics investigators…