A California clerk was fatally shot by a robbery suspect, authorities say. The suspect won't be charged with murder. - NBC News

A robber fatally shot a Northern California state presumption clerk but won't beryllium charged with execution due to the fact that the unfortunate wrongly chased and opened occurrence connected the gunman, prosecutors said Thursday.

Ronald Jackson Jr., 20, was initially booked connected suspicion of equipped robbery and homicide successful transportation to the slaying of James Williams, 36, aboriginal Saturday astatine a Chevron presumption successful Antioch, constabulary said Wednesday.

Jackson and different man, who was inactive being sought Thursday, were fleeing the robbery erstwhile Williams chased and opened occurrence connected them, constabulary said. Jackson was struck successful the limb and returned fire, sidesplitting Williams, constabulary and prosecutors said.

Antioch detectives submitted their findings to the Contra Costa County territory attorney's office, and prosecutors "elected to complaint Jackson with robbery, possession of stolen property, and a firearm enhancement, but declined to complaint him with murder," constabulary said successful a statement.

The Contra Costa County territory attorney's bureau successful Martinez, Calif.Google Maps

District Attorney Diana Becton remained soundless connected the substance until aboriginal Thursday evening erstwhile her bureau issued a lengthy statement, saying the determination to not record execution charges was based connected a "legal and factual determination."

Becton said deadly unit is legally justified arsenic an enactment of self-defense erstwhile beingness oregon spot is threatened, but not to spell aft idiosyncratic to retrieve spot erstwhile the menace of harm has subsided.

"In the eyes of the law, Mr. Williams' actions ceased to beryllium self-defense erstwhile Mr. Williams pursued Mr. Jackson and the different fishy with a firearm — and continued to prosecute Mr. Jackson aft helium changeable him," she wrote.

Jackson has been charged with second-degree robbery, a peculiar allegation of utilizing a firearm successful that transgression and receiving stolen spot worthy much than $950 — crimes that could onshore him down bars for arsenic agelong arsenic 15 years — but not homicide.

The determination stunned woman and co-worker Annette Matamoroz, who was astatine the store erstwhile Williams was fatally shot.

"I wholly disagree with this," a tearful Matamoroz told NBC News connected Thursday. “It is murder. It doesn’t look similar murder; it is murder. What other could it be?"

Surveillance video showed Jackson and his accomplice moving distant from the Chevron and astir 100 feet distant from Williams erstwhile helium changeable Jackson successful the backmost of his leg, Chief Assistant DA Simon O'Connell told reporters connected Friday.

"He strikes 1 of those individuals who goes down to the crushed and continues to past adjacent the approximate region betwixt himself and the 2 perpetrators of that robbery," O'Connell said. "Further gunfire is made by Mr. Williams toward hose individuals."

Because Jackson was wounded extracurricular the Chevron, a ineligible adept says the fishy could person argued helium was leaving the country and had a ineligible close to support himself.

“Self-defense is simply a temporal concept. So successful different words, had this lawsuit happened wrong the store, that would person been 1 thing," said Steven Clark, a San Jose transgression defence lawyer and NBC Bay Area ineligible analyst.

"But erstwhile the feline ran away, the conception of the clerk being reasonably afraid, that changed considerably. Now you person a superior felony, what the robber did, but you don’t get to execute the feline nether those circumstances. So the robber past obtained the close to self-defense.”

A brace of Contra Costa County prosecutors, gathering with reporters connected Friday, stood steadfast connected the office's decision. They adjacent hinted Williams mightiness person been successful immoderate ineligible jeopardy by opening occurrence extracurricular the Chevron arsenic the suspects fled.

The sprinting robbers had “achieved a wide distance” erstwhile Williams fired 9 shots, 1 that brought down Jackson, Deputy DA Derek Butts said.

“I don’t privation to travel to a decision astir that, but it’s crossed my mind,  chapeau investigation of however hard it would be, the lawsuit would be, wherever the clerk is present perchance being prosecuted for utilizing force,”  Butts said.

“We’ve encountered this concern wherever someone’s usage of unit exceeds what is tenable arsenic self-defense. And successful this case, due to the fact that Mr. Williams' usage of unit was unreasonable ... possibly it would beryllium that helium was liable for immoderate transgression depending connected the result of the shooting."

The victim's woman Matamoroz insisted Williams isn't astatine responsibility and said he'd inactive beryllium live contiguous "had they not travel to the store."

"They came with those intentions" — that is, to perpetrate a crime, she said. "They didn't travel present conscionable to spell shopping."

While helium agreed with Becton's determination not to question a execution prosecution, Clark faulted her for failing to rapidly and forcefully explicate the rationale to an understandably acrophobic and confused public.

Becton didn't contented her connection until astir 5 p.m. PST Thursday earlier sending 2 of her apical deputies to conscionable with reporters astatine noon Friday to explicate the charging decision.

"There's a wide doctrine that erstwhile you are the initiator of the problem, similar the robber was, your self-defense rights are lessened than if you are the victim, similar the clerk," Clark said Thursday.

"There's going to beryllium imaginable for disapproval here. 'Why are we bending implicit backward to not complaint an equipped robber with the execution of an guiltless store clerk who is protecting his premises?' That seems to basal the instrumentality connected its head. That seems to basal logic connected its head. The DA needs to cautiously articulate to the nationalist wherefore this determination was made."

Williams' decease volition play a cardinal relation successful seeking maximum punishment, according to Becton, adjacent though Jackson won't beryllium prosecuted for the clerk's slaying.

Becton wrote that, "the world of Mr. Williams' tragic decease volition beryllium a important origin successful the DA's presumption successful asking for greater penalties successful the sentencing of the defendants."

Matamoroz worked astatine the aforesaid Chevron but wasn't connected the timepiece erstwhile she was keeping Williams institution earlier his death.

Matamoroz was successful the bath erstwhile Williams told her to enactment put.

“He had told me: 'They’re trying to rob this place. Just accidental here. Just enactment present successful the bathroom,'" she said.

"He was a loving, caring, genuine man. You don’t travel crossed excessively galore radical similar that successful life. He really genuinely cared. He cared astir radical helium didn’t adjacent know. He wanted to assistance everybody. He wanted everybody to beryllium each close each the time. If helium could marque it better, that's what helium would do."

Matamoroz past broke down successful tears, and her dependable trailed off: "That’s wherefore I privation him here, due to the fact that helium would beryllium making this amended and I wouldn’t beryllium feeling similar this.”