State v. Coley

In this case, Defendant testified that he fired a warning shot at Garris. This acknowledgment by Defendant demonstrates that he did not "inten[d] to strike the victim with the blow," State v. Ayers, --- N.C. App. ----, ----, 819 S.E.2d 407, 411, stay allowed , --- N.C. ----, 817 S.E.2d 735 (2018), and that such act exceeded that which was reasonably necessary to protect himself from death or serious bodily harm, thereby precluding a jury instruction on self-defense. The trial court also correctly declined to instruct on defense of habitation because Defendant's testimony that he fired a…