BENJAMIN R.

DAVID State of North Carolina POST OFFICE BOX 352

DISTRICT ATTORNEY General Court of Justice PHONE: (910) 772-6610
Fifth Prosecutorial District FAX: (910) 772-6611

Wilmington, NC 28402

February 1, 2018

To: Members of the Media

From: District Attorney Ben David

Re: Shooting Death of Cpl. Edwin Estrada

On Sunday, November 19, 2017, at 6:07 a.m., Stephen Hughes shot and killed Marine Cpl. Edwin
Estrada outside Hughes’ residence. Hughes claimed he shot Estrada because Estrada attempted to
forcefully enter his home twice, and Hughes was in fear for his life.

Cpl. Edwin Estrada

 Estrada, age 27 of North Hollywood, CA, was a Marine and stationed in Jacksonville, NC.
 Estrada did not have a criminal record.
 Estrada had come to Wilmington for the Marine Ball on November 18, 2017. Estrada did not
go the ball because he did not have appropriate attire.
 Instead of attending the Marine Ball, Estrada drank at a bar in downtown Wilmington. Estrada
met up with other Marines after the ball and went to multiple downtown bars.
 Estrada originally planned to return to Jacksonville that night but decided to stay in Wilmington
in a room rented by another Marine at the Hilton. Estrada did not have his own room
reservation.
 At some point in the evening it is believed that Estrada’s phone died. No one received a text or
call from him after 9:25 p.m. that evening.
 At 1:00 a.m., Estrada was refused reentry to the Liquid Room due to his level of impairment.
 At 2:15 a.m., Estrada was seen by another Marine on Front Street. That Marine reported that
Estrada was alone and appeared intoxicated.
 Estrada returned to the Hilton and was captured on video leaving the Hilton lobby after briefly
visiting the front desk at 2:35 a.m.
 The Wilmington Police Department STING Center was unable to locate Estrada on any
available cameras and there is no knowledge of his whereabouts from 2:35 a.m. until 6:07 a.m.
 Estrada is not believed to have been armed at any point during the evening.

Stephen Hughes
 Hughes, age 36 of Wilmington, served in the Navy for 11 years and was honorably discharged.
 Hughes formerly worked as a law enforcement officer in Ellsworth, Maine.
 Hughes lived at 273 North Front Street, where he rented the basement space of an optometrist
office. He resided in this space and also used it as his place of business.
 Hughes reports that on the evening of November 18, 2017 he went to Home Depot to buy
supplies for his fish tank and had dinner with a friend at Nikki’s downtown. Hughes went home
after that and stayed up all night working on his fish tank until the time of the incident.
Shooting Death of Cpl. Edwin Estrada page 2

 Hughes had firearms at his residence and was a lawful possessor of those firearms.
 Hughes does not have a criminal record.

273 North Front Street

 The front entrance of the optometrist’s office opens onto Front Street. There are stairs in the
office leading to a lower level, which is where Hughes resided.
 The rear door of Hughes’ residence is metal and opens outwardly into the former Water Street
parking deck demolition site. This door has a deadbolt lock.
 The area immediately outside the door is a patio with plants and several air conditioning units.
In legal terms, this area is known as the “curtilage” of the residence.
 The lower level has a short hallway and two steps leading up to the rear door.
 There is no lighting on the exterior of the rear door, and the demolition site had a head-high
fence surrounding the area.

The Incident: November 19, 2017

 Shotspotter detected gunfire at 6:07 a.m., recording two shots fired approximately three
seconds apart.
 At 6:08 a.m., an employee from the Hilton called 911 to report hearing gun shots.
 At 6:13 a.m. Hughes called 911 to report the shooting.
 At 6:16 a.m. officers from the Wilmington Police Department arrived at 273 North Front
Street. Hughes, still on the phone with 911, flagged officers down at street level and led them
through the optometrist’s office, downstairs, and out to his patio where they found Estrada’s
body.
 During this time, officer body camera footage captures rainy weather and that it was still dark
outside, making it hard to see objects looking from within the residence to the outside area.
 The footage also shows the temporary fencing still intact, encircling the back patio area.

According to Hughes, the following happened:

 At approximately 6:00 a.m., Hughes was inside his residence working on his fish tank.
 Hughes kept hearing a loud banging sound on the door of the rear entrance of the building.
 The banging got louder and sounded like someone was trying to kick in the back door.
 Hughes armed himself with his 9mm pistol and walked to the rear door.
 Hughes placed his pistol on a shelf beside the door and opened the door.
 When Hughes opened the door, Hughes was standing on the steps leading up to the door.
Estrada was standing in the doorway. Estrada tried to forcefully enter the residence.
 Hughes yelled at Estrada “Hey,” and Estrada stopped.
 Hughes retrieved his weapon and pointed it at Estrada. Hughes was standing in the doorway at
this point.
 Hughes asked Estrada if “he was out of his f***ing mind,” and told Estrada to “get down.”
 Estrada told Hughes “no you get down.”
 Hughes told Estrada to “get the f*** out of here,” and to “leave.”
 Estrada looked at Hughes, smiled and said, “This is pure comedy, I’m going to get you.”
 Estrada then lunged at Hughes, trying to forcefully enter the residence again, and Hughes fired
two shots.
 Hughes could not tell where he was shooting Estrada because it was pitch dark outside.
 When Estrada lunged at him, Hughes was in fear for his life.
Shooting Death of Cpl. Edwin Estrada page 3

 After shooting Estrada, Hughes did a protective sweep outside in case there were others with
Estrada.
 Hughes moved Estrada’s body over with his foot to check for vitals. Hughes determined that
Estrada was deceased.
 Hughes did not have his cell phone at the time of the shooting and had to locate it to call 911.
 Hughes retrieved his cell phone and called 911 at 6:13 a.m. to report the shooting.

CSI/Investigation
 Hughes fired a 9mm pistol, and two shell casings were located inside the residence by the rear
door.
 Estrada fell within the curtilage of Hughes’ residence. His head was seven feet, eleven inches
away from the rear door. His body fell parallel to the doorway with his feet closest to the air
conditioning units.
 It is believed that Estrada was first shot in the face, which, according to the medical examiner,
would not have been a debilitating injury. A second shot to the back of the neck was likely fatal.
The exit wound from the first shot was next to the entrance wound of the second shot.
 Investigators interviewed another occupant of the building, who was asleep prior to the
incident. She awoke when she heard the shots fired then saw Hughes outside on the patio on
the phone. She could not offer any additional information.
 Investigators interviewed several Marines who were with Estrada earlier in the evening. They
confirmed his movements prior to his departure from the Hilton lobby at 2:35 a.m., but no one
was able to account for his whereabouts after that time.
 Hughes was cooperative and voluntarily gave an interview to the Wilmington Police
Department.
 Hughes claimed that he did not know Estrada before this incident.
 Hughes’ phone records show that he did not have contact with Estrada via text or phone call.
 There is no evidence that Hughes and Estrada knew each other or had any prior encounters.
 There were no eyewitnesses to the shooting, and the only account of what happened came from
Hughes.
 As of today, the investigation has not found any evidence that disputes Hughes’ account of
events.

The Defense of Habitation Law

In January of 2018, members of the Wilmington Police Department, along with senior prosecutors
in the District Attorney’s Office, met to review the evidence developed during the investigation to
determine if there had been a violation of the law.

All life is sacred. As the North Carolina Court of Appeals recently said in State v. Bass, 802 S.E.2d
477, N.C. App. LEXIS 440 (2017) the law only gives the right for one person to take another’s life
under the law of self-defense in two circumstances:

1. When a person reasonably believes that such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or
great bodily harm to himself or herself or another; or

2. Under the circumstances of the recently enacted Defense of Habitation Law. G.S. 14-51.3a

The law has long held that a person’s home is their castle, and there is no duty to retreat before
using deadly force against an intruder. This is recognized as the “Castle Doctrine.” State v. Stevenson,
Shooting Death of Cpl. Edwin Estrada page 4

81 N.C. App. 409, 344 S.E. 2d 334 (1986). The North Carolina Legislature recently codified this
principle by enacting G.S. 14-51.2 et. seq., which became effective for offenses committed on or after
December 1, 2011.

These statutes provide that a lawful occupant within their home, motor vehicle, or workplace does
not have a duty to retreat (14-51.2(f)) and is justified in using deadly force against someone who is
forcibly entering or attempting to enter their home, motor vehicle, or workplace. (See G.S. 14-51.2(b)).
This protection is not limited to the actual structure of the home, but includes the “curtilage” of the
home which would be “at least the yard around the dwelling house as well as the area occupied by
barns, cribs, and other outbuildings.” State v. Frizzelle, 243 N.C. 49, 51, 89 S.E. 2d 725, 726 (1955).

The act further provides that a homeowner need not guess the intentions of the intruder. Rather,
the law provides that, “[a] person who unlawfully and by force enters or attempts to enter a person’s
home, motor vehicle, or workplace is presumed to be doing so with the intent to commit an unlawful
act involving force or violence.” (See 14-51.2(d)).

A lawful occupant who uses force in this circumstance is “justified using such force and is immune
from civil or criminal liability for the use of such force.” (See 14-51.2(e)).

A painstaking investigation took place to confirm or refute the account of events told by Stephen
Hughes. At this time, the Wilmington Police Department has found no evidence that disputes Hughes’
account of events. Hughes claims that Estrada was attempting to forcefully enter his residence. Hughes
had a lawful right to be in his home and Estrada did not have a lawful right to attempt entry.
Accordingly, Hughes was legally justified in using deadly force to stop him, and is immune from
criminal liability.

At this time, the State will not be bringing charges against Stephen Hughes pursuant to North
Carolina’s Defense of Habitation laws. WPD has contacted the Estrada family to share this conclusion.
Members of the DA’s Office and the WPD also met with NCIS to inform them of this decision.

Conclusion

The conclusion of when deadly force is legally justified is highly fact dependent on the unique
circumstances of every case. While this incident is not a crime, it is a tragedy on many levels and could
have been avoided. A young man who honorably served our country is dead. Another man, who also
honorably served our country, must live with the realization that he took a fellow serviceman’s life.

This is a cautionary tale. Those who wander while highly intoxicated may be perceived as a threat
and not only lose the protection of the laws, but may lose their very lives. Those who resort to self-help
rather than calling 911 can create a situation that, while legally excused, turns unnecessarily fatal.
Everyone should wish for a different outcome with the benefit of hindsight.