In the course of replacing a bathroom vanity, a dispute between a man and his contractor, each armed with a pistol, ended in a shooting.
Three bullets hit Zachary Burch, 24 at the time. One struck a lung. He was life-flighted to a hospital in Morgantown, West Virginia. He said the pain from his gunshot wounds is permanent and continues to bother him. His chest and armpit are numb.
A Belmont County jury found Timothy Damien Bradley, 52 as of this summer, not guilty of felonious assault of Burch, based on his claim of self-defense. However, Bradley was convicted on two counts of his bullets hitting two neighbors’ houses. He was sentenced to at least seven years in prison.
Now, the Ohio Supreme Court is reviewing an appellate ruling that reversed one of those convictions and ordered a new trial for the other one. After serving nine months in prison, Bradley was released on bond. He’s legally an innocent man until either a new trial is held or the Supreme Court reverses.
The case could allow the seven justices to set a new legal standard for what happens when bullets shot in self-defense wind up in the path of unsuspecting bystanders. The court is set to hear oral arguments Wednesday.
A ruling could push the limits of Ohio’s self-defense laws, which protect those who shoot to kill in the face of a perceived threat.
In this case, state law shielded Bradley from criminal consequences relating to shooting Burch, and, if he gets his way at Ohio’s high court, shields him for now from consequences related to a bystander who was almost caught in the crossfire.
The court is currently under 6-1 Republican control. The case provides justices a chance to make a ruling about gun rights, long a pet issue of the right, in an election year with two seats up for grabs.
A bathroom vanity and a shooting
Bradley and Burch were set to meet at 7 a.m. at Bradley’s home on Memorial Day in 2021 in Martins Ferry. Burch referred to them both as “gun enthusiasts,” court records state.
Burch, who Bradley claimed during his trial had pointed a gun at two others in the past, didn’t show. Bradley fired him by text message.
When Burch showed up later that morning to grab his tools, a pistol protruded from his waistband as he yelled that Bradley owed him money. Bradley demanded he return the gun to his car.
“F— you, this is Ohio,” Burch responded, per court documents. “This is open carry. And I’m going to get my tools, I’ll do what I want.”
Ohio law has long allowed adult residents to openly carry firearms. A Republican-backed law that took effect in 2022 (after the shooting at issue) allowed Ohio adults to carry concealed weapons without any permit, training or background check.
Burch entered the house once and left carrying an air compressor. Bradley said he demanded Burch not return and said that he would grab Burch’s remaining tools. Burch responded, yelling comments like “if you don’t give me my f—ing money, I’m going to shoot this house up,” per court testimony. Burch at trial conceded making verbal threats.
Bradley stepped away from the front door to grab Burch’s tools. On his return, he saw Burch walking back in, still armed with a pistol at his waist.
Bradley said he saw Burch move his arm in a way that made him fear for his life. Bradley, a former weapons instructor, drew his pistol and fired six shots. Burch denied ever reaching for or drawing his gun. Appellate judges found it “does not appear” he did so from grainy security camera footage shown at trial.
Three bullets pierced Burch. Two of them exited through Burch’s body and continued forward. Three missed.
Police later found bullets in two neighbors’ houses. At one house, two bullets hit a lower section of the front door and came to rest in a living room. A second neighbor whose home was hit did not testify at trial.
An earlier version of this story incorrectly referred to Timothy Damien Bradley as a contractor. He’s a machinist who hired Burch as a contractor.