State v. Davis

Defendant appeals his conviction on two counts of menacing. He assigns as error the trial court’s (1) refusal to allow a state’s witness to be cross-examined with respect to his avoidance of defendant’s investigator and (2) failure to give a self-defense instruction to the jury. We reverse and remand for a new trial.

The state’s account of the facts only slightly resembles defendant’s version. According to the state, on May 20, 1982, defendant and his wife entered the Belle Bee Tavern in Coos Bay shortly after 1:00 a.m. After exiting through the rear door, they again entered the front door,…