David Edward Bloebaum, 61, was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to life in prison following a road rage dispute along the Kilpatrick Turnpike that ended with the shooting death of another man in the Target parking lot.

In the case, witnesses saw Bloebaum and another man, Jasen Yousif, 29, driving aggressively on the turnpike in the afternoon of September 28, 2012. They say that it appeared that Bloebaum was chasing Yousif in a "high-speed chase" when Yousif exited the turnpike and drove to the parking lot of the SuperTarget at Penn and Memorial.

Yousif reportedly left his vehicle and approached Bloebaum's when the older man pulled a gun and shot Yousif from inside his vehicle. Bloebaum argued that he shot Yousif in self defense, saying the younger man was armed with a knife; however, prosecutors disagreed. They say the defendant was not in reasonable fear of imminent danger, and they noted that after shooting the other man in the chest twice, he shot him an additional three times in the back.

In October 2014, Bloebaum was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. 

He appealed, citing Oklahoma's "stand your ground" law and continuing to maintain that his use of lethal force was justified in defending himself against a man armed with a knife.

On Tuesday, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals ruled against Bloebaum and upheld his conviction and sentence. The court disagreed that the appellant was justified in using lethal force, calling the trial court's ruling in denying Bloebaum's pre-trial application for immunity "well-reasoned."

Evidence seemed to refute the defendant's claims of self defense. For example, he claimed that Yousif reached into his car and tried to stab him with a knife, stabbing the car seat instead. However, there was no damage to the seat. Although a knife was found at the scene, witnesses could not corroborate whether or not the victim had been holding the knife; one said yes, another said no. Finally, the gunshot wounds were described as "distance wounds," and there was no blood spatter on or inside Bloebaum's vehicle, indicating that the victim was not in close proximity to the shooter, nor was he attempting to gain entrance to the vehicle at the time of the shooting.

The appeals court affirmed both the conviction and the associated life sentence.

Image credit: John Feinstein