On Feb. 2, 2013, at around 2:30 in the morning, Julian Acox asked his girlfriend Vickie to stop at a 7-Eleven near downtown Reno, Nevada, to pick up a cigar. They’d been out at a few bars for a friend’s birthday, and on their way home were planning to drop off Vickie’s friend, Jessica, who was in the back seat.

Vickie parked the car in front of the 7-Eleven, two spaces away from a silver SUV. Inside the SUV were three men and a woman, all members of a motorcycle club based out of Elko, Nevada. The four called themselves “Ruff Ryders,” though the Elko Ruff Ryders were not formally affiliated with the larger motorcycle organization of the same name. The group had also been out that night, and at the last strip club they visited, one of the Ruff Ryders noticed a young black man who seemed to be watching them. When they saw Julian leaving Vickie’s car later that night, he fit the bill: young black male. Early 20s. Baseball hat.

Merlin Herrald, the president of the unofficial Ruff Ryders chapter in Elko, got out of the SUV first. While Julian leaned into the passenger seat of Vickie’s car to get change, he heard Vickie and Jessica yell, “Watch out behind you!” Almost simultaneously, Julian felt Herrald push him from behind.

Self-defense, or first-degree murder? A stand your ground state, and a black defendant. The trial you won’t believe