It’s risky practice to take the witness stand in your own trial .

Doubly so, when your life is at stake.

But Erick Boone, 29, of Harrisburg, put it all on the line to tell a Dauphin County jury he fatally shot a Huntingdon man in self-defense the night of April 17, 2024.

Before that, he admitted to getting into a fight with 43-year-old Dewayne Brown inside USA Fried Chicken on 13th and Derry . He said he and his friend Marcus Stultz beat Brown, took him to the ground, whaled on him some more and then rummaged through his pockets and stole his cellphones.

But when he and Stultz encountered Brown 20 minutes later, he said he feared for his life.

He and a third man, Zachary Harr, testified Thursday in court that Brown came out of an alleyway as they were walking with his hands in his

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