See Update No. 2 on page 2 where Robert Joseph Price's lawyer claims his client acted in self defense. Update No. 1 on the next page is on the murder counts against Price and the possible sentence he faces with a conviction.
ORIGINAL POST, JUNE 21, 12:19 P.M.: A long-simmering dispute between neighbors resulted in one Garden Grove man murdering another early today, according to police.
Robert Joseph Price, 52, is suspected of murdering 53-year-old Glen Ray Berry in the 12600 block of Poplar Street around 1:20 a.m., says a Garden Grove Police statement.
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Price told officers who arrived on a call about a shooting on Poplar Street that he had been involved before directing them to Berry, who was pronounced dead at the scene, police say.
Officers add the shooting was related to a long-time dispute between the neighbors. No one else was injured, and no other suspects are being sought.
What is being sought is more information about the incident. If you can help, contact Garden Grove Police Investigator Reynolds at 714.741.5828.
UPDATE NO. 1, JUNE 25, 11:22 A.M.: Robert Joseph Price is scheduled to be arraigned in Westminster this afternoon on one felony count of murder with a sentencing enhancement for the personal discharge of a firearm causing death.
Currently being held on $1 million bail, the 52-year-old faces a maximum sentence of 50 years to life in state prison with a conviction, according to an Orange County District Attorney's office (OCDA) arraignment statement.
The statement also sheds more light on the incident that turned a long-simmering neighborhood dispute between Price and Glen Ray Berry violent:
“At approximately 1 a.m. on June 21, 2013, Price is accused of making noise and lighting fireworks in his backyard, which shares a back fence with the victim's home. Berry walked to the defendant's home and knocked on the security screen on the defendant's door. Price is accused of opening the front door and shooting the unarmed victim in the face through the closed security screen door.”
UPDATE NO. 2, JUNE 25, 5:43 P.M.: Robert Price acted in self-defense when he fatally shot neighbor Glen Ray Berry in the face, the murder defendant's attorney claims.
But Price did not enter a plea this afternoon at the Westminster courthouse, and his arraignment was rescheduled for July 10. His bail remains at $1 million.
“To me, it's a pretty straightforward self-defense case,” Bart Kasperowicz, Price's defense attorney, reportedly told City News Service.
Berry earlier had been making noise in his backyard, prompting an argument that had the neighbors “throwing things at each other,” according to Kasperowicz, who added that's what spurred Berry to come to Price's front door “in a violent and scary way.”
Berry was so angry, according to Kasperowicz, “he tried to knock down the fence” in his client's yard. “That kind of freaked (Price) out.”
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