Idaho Gun Owner Found Not Guilty in Self- Defense Case!

Important Note: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of myself, ISAA President Greg Pruett. The following story is only some of the details as retained in my memory during the trial, which I sat through in its entirety. If some of the details are inaccurate, they will be cleared up in a future interview I will be doing with the Cameron family. If you wish to help the Cameron family, they have set up a GiveSendGo after spending $35,000 in out-of-pocket expenses to fight these unjust charges. Click here to donate. Additionally, any requests for resignation or actions by the legislature are also those of the ISAA and not any other individuals named or quoted in the article.

A jury of his peers in Ada County found Theron Cameron not guilty after approximately one and a half hours of deliberation!

Cameron is a combat Veteran, former law enforcement deputy, and current Black Hawk helicopter pilot who also assists in search and rescue missions in Idaho’s mountainous areas.

Theron is a father and husband with no criminal record. He is an upstanding citizen and a responsible and well-trained gun owner.

Last August, on the first day of school, Theron had just gotten home when he received a frantic phone call from his terrified wife, who said there was a man at the kid’s bus stop threatening to kill himself. Theron lept into action, as any parent would, to ensure the safety of his wife, the two children with her, and their other child who would soon be arriving on the bus.

Theron grabbed his self-defense weapon, an AR-15 pistol, and put on his tactical vest, which included a medical kit. He told me he had no idea what to expect when he got to the bus stop, so he wanted to be ready for anything.

In the meantime, the man, who was identified in the trial as being diagnosed bipolar with manic episodes, had asked several children at a bus stop, according to testimony, if they wanted to see something cool. The man then deliberately walked in front of a moving vehicle in an alleged attempt to kill himself.

After the vehicle stopped and the man exchanged words with the driver, Theron’s wife told the kids to get in her car, but one of the children couldn’t temporarily because they testified that the man was blocking his ability to get in the car. Eventually, the man moved, and the young man was able to get in Theron’s wife’s vehicle.

The man eventually returned to his home, and several minutes after the call to her husband, Theron arrived on the scene and stayed in constant communication with his wife. The bus had still not arrived with their third child.

While waiting for the bus, the man exited his home again after his mom said she was watching TV and that a gesture she had made set him off. She testified that her son had left the house and slammed the door on his way out.

The man left the home and walked directly to Theron’s wife’s car. She testified that the man was flipping her off and that she was terrified he was going to do something. Theron told his wife to leave the area.

As Theron’s wife was leaving the area, she drove away from the bus stop while still trying to ensure that her husband and others were okay. She said she was still worried about her son, who had not arrived.

While turning the corner several hundred yards away, Theron’s wife testified that a woman stepped in front of her vehicle. She said the woman was telling her the man was mentally ill and that police were on their way. This didn’t make her feel any better.

According to testimony from the boy who couldn’t get into Theron’s wife’s car earlier, the woman who got in front of their car was practically leaning into his window on the passenger-side. At the same time, the kids in the back seat, crying and scared, told Theron’s wife that “the man was coming.” Theron’s wife then told her husband that the man was again coming toward them.

Theron drove his car up the road and cut the man off. It was only after the man kept moving forward toward Theron’s wife and kids that he pulled out his firearm to stop what he believed was a threat to their lives. Theron didn’t shoot the man. He did everything he could to get him to stop and told him he needed to go home.

During this exchange, the woman, who had stopped Theron’s wife, came into his blind side and interjected herself into the volatile situation, according to testimony.

At this point, Theron turned and told the woman to back up, give him space, and get away from the situation. It was this woman who alleged that Theron also pointed his firearm at her.

The woman and her sister both testified that a red or green dot was pointed at her chest. The only issue with their testimonies was that the weapon did not have a laser, and even the prosecution’s witness, an Ada County deputy, testified that no laser could be found on the gun. So, why were both of them testifying about a laser dot on the woman’s chest?

A defense witness testified that Theron only pointed his gun at the man who was coming toward his wife and children. He testified that Theron never pointed the gun at the woman. However, police arrived later on and arrested Theron for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Ada County Prosecutor Jan Bennetts charged Theron with three different crimes:

Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon against the mentally ill man (felony), Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon against the woman (felony), and brandishing (misdemeanor).

During the preliminary hearing, the aggravated assault charge for pointing the gun at the mentally ill man was thrown out. The other two charges remained.

Theron and his wife spent over $35,000 in legal fees to fight off the unjust charges.

The judge in the case, Judge James Cawthon, gave excellent jury instructions, some of which the defense wished to have added to the instructions. He said that in Idaho, there is a right to defend yourself and others. He also covered Idaho’s Stand Your Ground law, letting the jury know there was no duty to retreat.

Hearing these instructions and talking to Theron throughout the trial, I tried to imagine myself in his situation. I couldn’t think of anything I would have done differently than he did in that terrifying moment.

This was a man with combat experience, no criminal record, and an overall upstanding citizen who was being dragged through the legal system because the prosecution had nothing better to do than try to ruin this man’s life for defending himself and others from harm.

When the jury verdict came in after about one and a half hours of deliberation, the tension was unlike anything you could imagine. Either Theron was about to serve time in prison and lose his job, livelihood, and much more, or he was going to walk a free man.

I can’t imagine the tension for Theron and his wife, whom I got to know a little bit on the final day she was in the courtroom. My heart broke for them, not knowing the fate that awaited them.

As the jury sat down and the clerk took the verdict form, it was deafeningly quiet, and the whole world seemed to stop all at once. I wish every gun owner could have been there to feel what I was feeling: The goosebumps, fear, anger, frustration, and sadness of not knowing what was about to be read from the clerk’s lips.

Then, as anti-climactic as possible, the clerk read two words Theron, myself, his wife, his friends, and gun owners around Idaho loved to hear: not guilty.

Theron, his wife, and his friends were in tears. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t fighting them back myself.

I can’t imagine the torture that this trial has been for Theron and his family. I can’t believe that government bureaucrats were railroading someone who acted in self-defense and defense of others in Idaho, of all places.

Theron’s lawyers did an incredible job throughout the trial. Aaron Hooper and Jonathan Loschi from Hooper, Mitchell, and Associates represented him.

I asked Mr. Hooper about the case and his thoughts on how the trial went. He told me,

“It’s definitely unfortunate that the case went this far. The amount of stress, anxiety, and other hardship that my client and his family have suffered through this process cannot be overstated. Theron is a man who is genuinely a good human being that has dedicated his life to serving the public. This man has flown wounded and killed soldiers out of combat and also rescues folks caught in the Idaho wilderness. What’s so ironic in this situation is how many millions have been invested in him by State and Federal agencies for training, and then Ada County puts him in this situation where he could have been taken out of Blackhawks and the Idaho National Guard altogether.

Our team was always hopeful that a jury would get it right because we had the facts and Theron’s actions were definitely justified. However, there are no guarantees when you take a case to a jury, and it’s just so sad this family had to go through this.

It’s also important to note that the charges brought against Theron regarding the man suffering the episode were not dropped because the Prosecutor’s Office wanted them dropped. If they had it their way, he would have been in trial for all the original charges. That Count only went away because an Ada County Magistrate found there was no probable cause.”

I also asked Theron about the case. Here is what Theron told me once the trial was finally over, and he was a free man:

“My family and I are thankful that this is over, and that the jury clearly saw the truth. No one should have to choose between keeping their family safe and losing everything they’ve spent their life working on. I love my family more than anything; they are my world.

Getting that call was the scariest moment of my life, and there’s no scenario that I won’t protect my wife and children when they’re in danger. I’m thankful that they are safe, and at the end of the day that is the most important thing to me.”

Theron did what any parent would have done that day. Anyone who loves their spouse or children or wants to protect other children from harm would gladly lay their lives down to protect them.

That’s what makes this case so shameful because no gun owner would have acted any differently. Still, maybe if you are an Ada County resident, you will be more hesitant to defend yourself or your family because of Theron’s case.

The Ada County prosecutor is a Republican. A Republican prosecutor did this.

Another prosecutor, a Republican named Grant Loebs from Twin Falls County, assured lawmakers in a letter he sent them this year that Kyle Rittenhouse-type cases don’t exist in Idaho.

Well, it happened with Theron Cameron; it just didn’t get the national media coverage that Kyle Rittenhouse’s case did.

How many other cases like Theron’s have already happened in Idaho that we don’t know about? If it is happening with a Republican prosecutor, what about more liberal parts of the state?

Most gun owners didn’t know about this case. It has gotten exactly zero press coverage. ISAA followers didn’t know about the case either because Theron had asked me not to say anything until the trial began.

So again, how many other cases have already happened that we never knew about?

The Idaho Second Amendment Alliance has tried to stop this type of prosecutor bullying for years. However, Republican lawmakers continue to push back and refuse to give Idaho gun owners a way to at least be compensated for their attorney’s fees when someone has acted in self-defense and been found not guilty.

We will not stop until we pass legislation that puts a check on the prosecutors and forces them to really decide if they think they can get a guilty verdict in a case like Theron’s that never should have gone to trial because the evidence didn’t warrant these charges.

I believe Ada County Prosecutor Jan Bennetts and Twin Falls County Prosecutor Grant Loebs should both resign. Bennetts should resign because of her unjust prosecution of Theron, and Loebs should resign for actively fighting against a critical piece of pro-2nd Amendment/self-defense legislation. They won’t, of course, but it would be the right thing for them to do.

Idahoans deserve prosecutors who will focus on actual criminals and not put Idahoans acting in self-defense or defense of others on trial because they are bored, want to make a political statement, or are incompetent.

If you wish to sign the petition to support our Stand Your Ground Immunity and Reimbursement legislation, you can sign that petition by clicking here.

Finally, if you wish to donate to the Cameron family and help cover some of the $35,000 life savings they lost in this trial, you can donate to their GiveSendGo account today by clicking here.