Attorney for accused Outer Loop Olive Garden shooter claims self-defense as motive

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- An attorney for a man accused of murdering a man inside of an Olive Garden says he was acting in self-defense.

Devone Briggs is being held at Louisville Metro Corrections on a $1 million bond.

His attorney wanted that lowered to $20,000, but a judge decided ruled against that motion.

Briggs is charged with murder, accused of shooting and killing 25-year-old Jose Munoz inside the Outer Loop Olive Garden around 8 p.m. Saturday.

Briggs was found and arrested a short time later near Jefferson Mall. According to court documents, detectives found a gun in Briggs' car, and they say he admitted to shooting Munoz.

Munoz was taken to the hospital, where he later died.

"I live right around the corner from Olive Garden, and I was like, This is really close to home. This is really crazy," said Jessica Kennon, a friend of Munoz. "Then I got a text message the next morning from his sister-in-law saying that it had been him involved."

According to Kennon, a child bumped into Briggs, he shoved her to the ground and then got in a verbal altercation with the adults the child was with. She said that Munoz then tried to break up the argument when he was shot. 

"He was trying to do the stand-up thing and trying to defend the father of the little girl that got pushed down," Kennon said. "You don't think that when you're trying to stand up for somebody that you're going to pay with your life for it."

But John Olash, Briggs' attorney, said Monday morning that his client could have been justified in firing that shot.

"From the witnesses I've spoke to, the deceased is the one who was the aggressor," Olash said. "He swung at my client. He pushed my client. He threatened Mr. Briggs before the deceased was shot."

At no point did Briggs or his attorney deny that he was the shooter during the hearing.

He's due back in court on March 7.

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