A Kuna shooter claimed self-defense. After hung jury, plea deal is reached
A Kuna man who was arrested after shooting and injuring a family member in October 2023 may not serve any time behind bars after a mistrial in his case and an ensuing plea deal.
It all started at a birthday get-together and ended with a fight in which 58-year-old Randell Waller shot and injured a man. During the trial, the jury was asked to decide whether Waller shot the man in self-defense.
After being arrested, Waller faced a felony aggravated assault charge and a misdemeanor charge of exhibition of a deadly weapon. His three-day trial in October ended with a hung jury, and 4th District Judge Patrick Miller declared a mistrial.
Waller then agreed to a plea deal instead of going through another trial, and in exchange, the felony was dropped. He received a suspended sentence on the misdemeanor charge, meaning that as long as he abides by terms of his unsupervised probation for two years, he won’t face jail time. He also must attend a “thinking errors” class.
Magistrate Judge Reagan Jameson, who handed down the sentence, noted that the defense and prosecution teams felt the plea deal was the best conclusion to come to, considering the jury could not come to a unanimous decision.
“The court has about this much information of a much bigger story,” Jameson stated during the sentencing. “It sounds like this is a reasonable resolution considering the fact that it has gone to trial and that there was neither a guilty plea or not guilty plea.”
According to a Kuna police Facebook post from 2023 — the city contracts with the Ada County Sheriff’s Office for law enforcement — deputies responded to the Kuna residence just before 9 p.m. Oct. 21 after being called about a shooting.
The incident started with a verbal altercation between the two men inside the home and escalated into a physical fight on the front lawn. According to witness testimony and the footage from a Ring Doorbell shared in court, after punching Waller repeatedly, the victim started to walk away when Waller grabbed his shoulder and shot him once.
A family member then called law enforcement while Waller and another family member tended to the man’s wound.
During the trial, defense attorney Jon Cox argued that Waller had a right to defend himself, while Ada County prosecuting attorney Joshua Haws said Waller shot the victim when there was no more threat of imminent danger.
The jury was unable to come to a unanimous decision on who the initial aggressor. The presiding juror told the judge that even with more time, the jury would be unable to reach a verdict. Another juror said the panel needed more evidence to make a decision.
Haws said there had been issues the victim’s willingness to participate in the case and be present for the trial, which hamstrung the evidence.
“It’s not a great resolution,” Haws said. “But it is certainly a compromise.”
Waller said he just wanted to be done.
“I would like to have an end to this,” Waller said during sentencing. “It’s been two years, and it has gravely impacted my life, and I just want it to be over with.”
