Colo. man convicted of shooting himself in groin

[May 10, 2010]  BRECKENRIDGE, Colo. (AP) -- A Colorado man who claimed he was trying to defend himself from a mugger when he shot himself in the groin has been convicted of illegal discharge of a firearm.

Investigators said there was no evidence to substantiate David Leroy Blurton's self-defense claim and jurors convicted the 50-year-old on Wednesday. The shooting happened at the parking lot of a grocery store in Dillon, Colo., on May 2009. Prosecutors say Blurton had been drinking.

Jurors also convicted Blurton of "prohibited use of a weapon -- drunk with a gun" and reckless endangerment. Prosecutors said they will request that Blurton be sentenced to probation.

Blurton maintained that someone hit him in the back of the head and he was trying to defend himself.

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Information from: Summit Daily News, http://www.summitdaily.com/

[Associated Press]

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