On Monday, Christian Labaut made his first court appearance via a Zoom call from what seemed to be a hospital bed, following an incident in July.
Witnesses on the scene at 7851 NE 10th Ave recounted Labaut firing multiple rounds into the air near an apartment building, claiming he was “celebrating the governor’s new constitutional carry law.”
Confrontation and shooting incident
Responding urgently to the incident, police said they were compelled to use force after Labaut refused to heed their warnings.
“They approached the defendant… gave lawful commands to stop and show his hands and he did not comply with officers verbal commands. He entered a residential hallway,” said Judge Mindy Glazer.
Recalling the harrowing aftermath, Pedro Labaut, the defendant’s brother, described the moment he found Christian.
“I look at the kitchen door he’s in the kitchen floor bleeding unconscious with a bullet. They shot him in the back and a puddle of blood – I thought he was dead,” he shared.
Previous encounter with law enforcement
According to media reports, Pedro also disclosed in July that the police had interacted with Christian earlier that same day.
“They come over here and let them go instead of taking him to jail ya should have taken him earlier look what happened now he’s almost dead fighting for his life,” Pedro lamented.
This claim has been backed by recent records which indicate that two hours prior to the shooting, police had responded to a call because Labaut threatened an individual with a knife post discharging his firearm multiple times.
Labaut is also facing aggravated assault charges in connection to this incident.
Legal repercussions
During his court appearance, Labaut was informed of the staggering 53 charges laid against him, which include resisting an officer, possession of a short-barrel shotgun, openly carrying a weapon, and discharging a firearm in public.
Reports are that Labaut’s mother said she could take care of him. The judge has granted him house arrest.
