WORLAND – A former Worland man who won a Wyoming State Supreme Court decision earlier this year, and was granted a retrial for a 2015 shooting incident that resulted in the death of a family member, has waived his right to a speedy trial and will face a retrial in early 2018 in the Fifth Judicial Court.

According to an affidavit of probable cause, the original events stemmed from a simple parking dispute.

Anthony Haire fatally shot Jamye Don SoRelleSoRelle, 58, on the night of April 13, 2015, near their trailers on shared property located at 1459 U.S. 20 South. Haire originally told authorities that he shot SoRelle in self-defense, after Sorelle had fired in his direction. Haire pled not guilty when charged.

During a lengthy trial in December 2015, it was determined that SoRelle had been shot twice in the back while on the ground, and hit nine times overall. Haire, represented by Senior Public Defender H. Richard Hopkinson, was found guilty by a jury of 12 people on Dec. 10, 2015 for the shooting death SoRelle. Haire was also charged for reckless endangerment for three shots that fired over the highway.

Haire was sentenced to eight to 10 years for manslaughter and reckless endangerment in Washakie County Fifth Judicial District Court on May 4, 2016.

Haire’s appeal process began in August 2016; state Supreme Court justices heard oral arguments on Jan. 19. According to Washakie County Attorney John P. Worrall, who originally prosecuted the case and witnessed the oral arguments before the Supreme Court, attorneys for Haire argued that on the basis that the crime with which Haire was found guilty falls under the “castle doctrine.”

Under the Wyoming law (commonly referred to as the “stand your ground” law) deadly force is justified when a person has a reasonable fear of death or serious bodily injury due to the actions of an intruder. The law provides criminal and civil immunity to persons who use deadly force under those circumstances, yet only applies when persons are within their own home. The law does not excuse crime victims from a duty to retreat outside the home.

“Basically,” explained Worrall, “it appeared that the argument before the [Supreme] Court, is that the [castle doctrine] law should be expanded to include the property around the home. In that case, the law itself would have to be amended.”

On May 8, 2017, the State Supreme Court ruled “It is reasonable to conclude from the record that the jury, after being instructed on the law as it was, likely concluded [Haire] had a general legal duty to retreat and did not do so, and that therefore he did not have the right to use deadly force in self- defense or defense of his family and [friend.] The duty to retreat became material to the case because of [Haire’s] testimony and the prosecutor’s use of that evidence as permitted by the errant instruction . . . In summary, the error adversely affected a substantial right. There is a reasonable probability that, without the erroneous instruction, the jury could have reached a verdict more favorable to [Haire] than it did. Consequently, we must find that [Haire] has demonstrated that he was materially prejudiced.”

Haire was subsequently release on bail and remanded for retrial.

Haile was arraigned in June and his retrial was tentatively scheduled for some time in October. Since waiving his right to a speedy trial, the Washakie County Attorney’s Office reports that the retrial may not be ready for a jury until early 2018.