On the evening of April 9, 2017, in the small community of Mammoth in Kanawha County, West Virginia, 36-year-old Jason Ryan ’JRoc’ Johnson was killed by a gunshot wound to the face. The shooting prompted a West Virginia State Police investigation that has been described as complicated by conflicting accounts, with a claim of self-defense becoming a central issue for prosecutors to sort out.

Authorities made arrests connected to the inquiry but not immediately for first-degree murder. George Leake was taken into custody on a charge of being a felon in possession after police linked a 9 mm pistol to him and found he had hidden the weapon at his mother’s house; he was also held on an outstanding warrant for escaping from community corrections in Fayette County. A witness, Tamara Lanham, was charged with lying to a trooper after initially saying the gun discharged accidentally during a fight, a statement inconsistent with other evidence.

What details about the shooting or the people involved could help clarify whether the self-defense claim is supported?