CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Mecklenburg County District Attorney's Office has cleared an officer in a deadly shooting last May.

Aaron Winchester died when Officer David Jester shot him on Sylvania Avenue in north Charlotte. Winchester had gotten into a fight with his girlfriend, and when Jester tried to question him, he ran away.

Jester said Winchester pulled out a gun and turned around and aimed at him, so he fired his gun four times.

Prosecutors said Jester was justified to fire because he was afraid for his life.

Although there were a lot of witnesses, prosecutors said most of them could not see Winchester had a gun.

Full Police Release On Shooting:

On May 20, 2008 the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police received two 911 calls reference a traffic accident that occurred because, the callers stated, a man was hitting the female driver of the car that crashed. A description was given of the man who left the scene of the accident before the police arrived. Officer Jester was on routine patrol and heard the call go out about the accident and the assault. He also heard the description of the male suspect. Officer Jester began to search for the suspect and observed him on Sylvania Avenue near Grimes Street. Officer Jester stopped his patrol car and made contact with the suspect, Aaron Winchester. Officer Jester as well as other witnesses reported that Mr. Winchester was visibly nervous. Aaron Winchester gave false names to the officer. He admitted to Officer Jester that he was the one involved in the assault with his girlfriend. The witnesses that overheard the conversation between Officer Jester and Mr. Winchester reported that it was normal with no raised voices. Officer Jester went to pat Mr. Winchester down and Mr. Winchester took off running down the sidewalk. Officer Jester pursued him.

As the two were running, Officer Jester saw the suspect reaching in his back pocket. At first he suspected that the suspect was getting ready to throw down drugs, this was based on his earlier strange and nervous behavior. As Officer Jester saw the suspect's hand come out, he saw that it was a silver revolver. Officer Jester at some point drew his weapon. Officer Jester observed the gun in Mr. Winchester's hand and he stated the suspect turned his arm and hand back as he was running as if to acquire him as a target. At this point Officer Jester fired his weapon four times, two of these shots struck Mr. Winchester in the back.

There were numerous witnesses to the exchange between the officer and the suspect as well as to the chase. Some people were out on their porches, some in the streets, and one witness, who was in the best position to observe the entire chase was in his car. Various witnesses did not report seeing a gun but their vantage point for observing this chase was not the same as the witness in the car. That witness saw an officer talking to someone in the street and decided to drive by and see what was happening. As he approached in his vehicle, the suspect began to run. The witness followed the chase down the sidewalk where he said he was driving parallel to both the officer and the suspect. This witness reported that he definitely saw a silver object in the suspect's hand. After Mr. Winchester was shot a silver handgun with wooden grips was recovered near his body.

An interview was conducted with Mr. Winchester's girlfriend. She confirmed the fight that caused the wreck. She further confirmed that Mr. Winchester not only had a gun, but that she had just returned it to him the night before.

This case was initially investigated by the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department. The District Attorney's Office requested the NC State Bureau of Investigation to conduct an independent investigation. In addition, the NC Attorney General's Office was also provided with the results of both investigations. The District Attorney's Office has closely consulted with the Attorney General's Office about all the facts of this case.

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