CRIMINAL DIVISION

821oniaAveN.W.
Suite 450
Grand Rapids, Ml 49503-3022
Telephone: (616) 632-6710
FaxT(61"6)"632-67lTU "' '" CHRISTOPHER BECKER
Prosecufor

MONICA M. JANISKEE
Chief Assistant Prosecutor

FACTS

On September 4, 2022, Grand Rapids Police were dispatched to 2662 South Division, the location
ofte Petite Chateau, a bar/dance club, regarding an individual being shot. When they arrived, police found
Jose Garcia Rivas in the parking lot just outside of the east entrance to the buiiding. He had been shot
twice; once in the center of his chest and once directly below it in his abdomen. The efforts to save his life
were unsuccessful, he was later pronounced dead at Saint Mary's Hospital.

Trenton Goodson was identified as the individual who shot Mr. Garcia Rivas. Mr. Goodson was a
security guard working at La Petite Chateau; he was employed by Phenix Security and was stationed inside
the vestibule of the door at the east entrance of the building. Through police investigation, it was
determined that Mr. Garcia Rivas and his girlfriend were asked to leave the club due to causing a
disturbance inside of the club. Mr. Goodson was not involved in asking them to leave or escorting them
out of the club until Mr. Garda Rivas and his girlfriend made it to his station. While leaving, Mr. Garda
Rivas threw a bottle at the feet of another security guard and squared off as if he was going to throw a
punch while inside the club. There are a number of video cameras in this establishment and/ from those
cameras, it is possible to see the bottle being thrown and Mr. Goodson walking towards the incident to
assist his fellow employees.

Nothing further physical occurred inside the club. Mr. Garda Rivas and his girlfriend were escorted
outside into the parking lot From reviewing the video and statements from those involved, once outside/
there was an additional heated argument between the couple and others regarding what had taken place
inside the club. Mr. Goodson was not involved in the argument, but attempted to keep the parties from
engaging in a physical fight. None occurred, and eventually everyone, save for Mr. Garcia Rivas and his
girlfriend, went back inside the club.

Mr. Garda Rivasand hisgirifriend continued to argue in the parking lot for a short period of time,
after which Mr. Garcia Rivas suddenly ran towards the east entrance of the club, picked up a beer bottle
that was by a post/ opened one door and threw that bottle at the second entry door into the dub. The
camera outside captured the sudden rush to the door and throwing of the beer bottle; the camera inside
shows the bottle smash against the window of the inside entry door. Mr. Goodson is standing just inside
that door. When the bottle strikes, you see Mr. Goodson duck, just before Mr. Garcia Rivas vioiently puiis
the inside entry door open. Mr. Goodson, who had been open carrying the entire night with a gun
strapped to his leg in fuii view/ pulled his gun and fired three times. Two bullets struck Mr. Garda Rivas
and he fell backwards into the parking lot/ where police found him.

Mr. Goodson then closed the door and went back into the club to tell his supervisor what
happened. They called 911 and he cooperated with the police once they arrived. He turned over his gun
and immediately gave a statement to police. He told officers on scene that he knew Mr. Garda Rivas did
not have any weapons when he initially came into the club. Mr. Goodson is there to do a pat down and
passes a metal detector wand over all patrons when they enter, and he did so for Mr. Garda Rivas.
However, he was part of the group that escorted Mr. Garcia-Rivas and his girlfriend out of the dub Just a
few minutes earlier. He was not sure if Mr. Garcia Rivas had "stashed" something outside around the
corner prior to entry or not. Mr. Goodson told officers on scene that, after the door had shut, he had
heard a loud noise that he thought might have been a gunshot. He then saw Mr. Garcia Rivas throw a beer
bottle at the door. He told police he then opened the door, saw Mr. Garcia Rivas raise his right hand in an
upward motion from his hip area. Mr. Goodson believed he saw something black in the hand of Mr. Garcia
Rivas, so he fired three times.

Detectives also interviewed Mr. Goodson later at the police station. He gave a similar version of
events. He indicated that he heard what he thought was gunfire/ then heard the beer bottle strike the
door and saw it as well. From his statement to detectives, "When he was like, when he was like still rushing
towards the door, that's when I opened it up and let off fire because I'm like if he gets in here and he
starts shooting/ it's going to be over for a lot of people/7 He once again told detectives that he saw
something black and it looked like a gun, and it could have been a phone, but "he wasn't going to wait
until it was in my face to really confirm/' He told detectives that he was in fear; he had never seen anyone
react like Mr. Garcia Rivas had by throwing a beer bottle inside at another person, nor at the door of the
club/ and he fett Mr. Garcia Rivas was going to start shooting because, "he threw stuff at the window, so
we can't see who's shooting."

As was stated earlier, this was captured on video, and much of what Mr. Goodson described is on
that video. However, he was not completely correct. First, Mr. Goodson dearly did not open that second
door. After opening the first door and throwing the beer bottle, Mr, Garda Rivas opened the second door
and not in a calm manner. Second/ Mr. Garcia Rivas did not have anything in his hand when he opened
the second door. The shots occur quite quickly after that second door opens, but upon slower review of
the video it is apparent that nothing is in Mr. Garda Rivas's hand when he opened that door.

SELF DEFENSE LAW

The rule of self-defense is well established in Michigan law. As a general rule, the use of deadly force
against another person in self-defense by one who is free from fault is justifiable if, under all the
circumstances, he honestly and reasonably believes that he is in imminent danger of death or great bodily
harm and that it is necessary for him to exercise deadly force. People v Riddle, 467 Mich 116,119(2002)

In 2006 the Michigan Legislature codified the law regarding self-defense when it passed the Self-Defense
Act (SDA), MCL 780.971, et seq, which sets forth the circumstances in which a person may use deadly
force in self-defense.

1) An individual who has not or Is not engaged in the commission of a crime at the time he or
she uses deadly force may use deadly force...if either of the following applies:
a. The individual honestly and reasonably believes that the use of force is necessary to
prevent the imminent death of or imminent great bodily harm to himself or another
individual.
b. The individual honestly and reasonably believes that the use of deadly force is necessary
to prevent the imminent sexual assault of himself or of another individual. MCL 780.972
It is not enough that the actor's belief be honest; that belief must also be reasonable. People v Heflin, 434
IVtich 482, 503(1990). ft must be emphasized that the test is not from hindsight if the use of such force
was actually necessary. It is looking at the actor and examining the information that actor had at the time
of the incident, and all of the circumstances surrounding that moment/ in determining if the actions he
took were reasonable.

Furthermore, there is a rebuttable presumption under Michigan law that a person using deadly force
acted appropriately if the following circumstances are met:

First, the individual against whom deadly force is used is in the process of breaking and entering
a dwelling or a business premises or committed a home invasion or has broken and entered a dwelling or
business premises.

Second, the individual using deadly force honestly and reasonably believes that the individual is
engaging in a breaking or entering of a building.

MCL 750.110 defines the crime of breaking and entering a building as, "A person who breaks and
enters, with intent to commit a felony or larceny therein, a tent, hotel, office, store, shop, warehouse/
barn/ granary, factor or other building, structure/ boat/ ship, shipping container, or railroad car is guilty of
a felony.."

"Actual necessity is not the test for self-defense; where circumstances present a person with
reasonable cause to believe he is in danger he may respond/ even if his belief is later shown to have been
a mistaken one." People vShelton, 64 Mich App/156 (1975). The reason for granting a person leeway in
making a sudden decision to use deadly force that may in fact be in error was recognized by the Michigan
Supreme Court long ago in 1860. "Human life is not to be fightiy disregarded and the law will not permit
it to be destroyed unless upon urgent occasion. But the rules which make it excusable or justifiable to
destroy it under some circumstances are really meant to insure its general protection. And such rule/ in
order to be of any value, but be in some reasonable degree accommodated to human character and
necessity." Pond v People, 8 Mich ISO/173(1860).

ANALYSIS

Under Michigan iaw, the People carry the burden of proof when it comes to self-defense, i.e., the
People must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Goodson did not act in self-defense when he fired
his three shots. Under the facts presented here, we cannot do that. First, Mr. Garcia Rivas was in the
process of committing the crime of breaking and entering a building when this occurred. While this may
not be the common public perception of a breaking and entering, this is exactly what he did under the
law. First, he had been kicked out and told to leave the premises. He had no right to go back inside. He
did so however, and/ when he opened that first door, he had already grabbed a beer bottle to throw. He
then proceeded inside the building and threw the beer bottle that struck the window of the second door.
Mr. Goodson saw this and, in fact, ducked in fear of being hit. Opening a door is a breaking under Michigan
law; destruction or damage is not necessary. In the way that Mr. Garda Rivas threw the beer bottle, it is
a dangerous weapon. Mr. Goodson reacted in fear by ducking when that beer bottle was thrown; when it
struck the window, he ducked, reacting to protect himself. Through these actions, Mr. Garcia Rivas
completed a crime of assault with a dangerous weapon, a felony, and, therefore, has completed the crime
of breaking and entering a building. He entered the building and committed an assault with a dangerous
weapon, which is a felony; under Michigan law, Mr. Goodson is entitled to the rebuttable presumption
that he acted appropriately. There is no evidence we could present that would overcome that
presumption.

in fact, any other evidence we could present would support Mr. Goodson's argument that he
acted in self-defense. He indicated that he thought he heard something like a gunshot prior to Mr. Garcia
Rivas coming in, then he saw the beer bottle fly at the window. He was already aware that Mr. Garcia
Rivas had acted in an assaultive manner when he left the club; now he was coming back in aggressively
throwing a second beer bottle at the window, blurring Mr. Goodson's view. In his statement, Mr. Goodson
said that he thought Mr. Garcia Rivas was going to start shooting. Mr. Garcia Rivas had been outside/ had
the opportunity to obtain a weapon, and was clearly acting in an aggressive and violent manner while
coming back inside. Mr. Goodson had been open carrying this entire time/ it was not a secret he was
armed, yet Mr. Garda Rivas still was acting in an aggressive manor returning inside the dub. Mr.
Goodson's belief is not an unreasonable one given all that had occurred up to this point. Furthermore,
when Mr. Garda Rivas opened the second door, Mr. Goodson said that he saw something bfack in Mr.
Garcia Rivas's hand while he was making an upward motion; he felt that it could have been a weapon. Mr.
Garcia Rivas did not have a weapon, nor a phone, but under the seff-defense law/ actual necessity is not
the test. The test is whether Mr. Goodson had reasonable cause to believe he may be in danger, even
though it later turned out he was mistaken. That is the case here. While Mr. Garcia Rivas was not armed
and did not have a weapon at the time the shots were fired, Mr. Goodson was dearly mistaken/ given all
of the circumstances at the time it was not unreasonable for Mr. Goodson to believe he was in danger,
even though he was ultimately incorrect. Mr. Goodson fold this to the officers when they first arrived and
repeated it to detectives later; there is no indication of fabrication, especially when the video essentially
supports his version of events.

There is no way to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Goodson did not act in self-defense
that night; therefore, no charges will be filed in this incident.

16^^-
Chris Becker Date
Kent County Prosecutor