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A security guard charged with manslaughter after fatally shooting a man<\/a> during a break-in at a Sacramento cannabis dispensary acted in self-defense, his attorney said ahead of a Thursday court hearing in the case.<\/p>\n \u201cHe had to make a split-second decision to defend himself,\u201d attorney Allen Sawyer said Thursday from his Stockton office ahead of a scheduled afternoon bail hearing for Joseph Lawrence Mills in Sacramento Superior Court. \u201cImagine being in his situation. It\u2019s 4:30 a.m. and these individuals are storming the building.\u201d<\/p>\n Joseph Lawrence Mills, 55, of Sacramento, remained held in Sacramento County Main Jail. Prosecutors said Mills shot two suspected burglars May 8 at the dispensary in the 8500 block of Thys Court in the Florin Fruitridge Industrial Park, east of Florin Perkins Road, killing one of them.<\/p>\n Mills\u2019 attorney said the charges were unwarranted and that Mills was defending himself and the property he was hired to protect when he fired the shots that killed 22-year-old Kato Lamarzae Mills, of Oakland, who was not related to him.<\/p>\n Sawyer said Mills, who lives on the dispensary property, encountered as many as nine masked men who rushed the business in the pre-dawn hours of May 8. Sawyer cited surveillance footage aired on Sacramento television<\/a> stations that showed what Mills faced before opening fire, saying he \u201chopes law enforcement will take a long, hard look at it\u201d as the investigation continues.<\/p>\n \u201cHe encountered them and he thought his life was in danger,\u201d Sawyer said. \u201cHe definitely didn\u2019t cause the situation.\u201d<\/p>\n The shooting underscored the dangers faced by legal cannabis operations, which Sawyer said are vulnerable to targeted break-ins.<\/p>\n \u201cUnfortunately, unlike illegal operations, legal operations are easy to find, and they\u2019re targeted because of that,\u201d the attorney said.<\/p>\n Mark Reichel, a Sacramento criminal defense attorney and former federal public defender who has represented cannabis dispensaries, also described the risks such businesses face.<\/p>\n \u201cI can attest that they are the frequent victims of violent armed robberies. Anyone taking that job knows that very well,\u201d Reichel said Thursday.<\/p>\n He said Mills has a case for self-defense if he felt he needed to open fire under the circumstances as described.<\/p>\n \u201cAt 4:30 a.m., in a deserted part of town, in a dark warehouse, nine masked and disguised men came to a place where it\u2019s believed large sums of cash are held. They clawed over the fence and broke the barrier. They were armed. The security guard shot at them in fear as they surrounded him,\u201d Reichel said.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s obviously not a crime,\u201d Reichel continued. \u201cIf the guard honestly felt it was necessary to shoot, and that feeling was \u2018reasonable,\u2019 under the circumstances, that\u2019s self-defense.\u201d<\/p>\n Sawyer said he would not speculate on why criminal charges were brought against Mills \u2014 he said he would first need to review discovery evidence \u2014 but said Mills remains \u201ctraumatized\u201d by the shooting.<\/p>\n Responding Sacramento police officers found Kato Mills wounded at the dispensary. He had been shot at least once and was pronounced dead at the scene.<\/p>\n A second gunshot victim, also suspected of being part of the burglary crew, later arrived at a hospital and was reported in stable condition, according to the Sacramento Police Department. Joseph Mills remained at the scene and was detained by officers.<\/p>\n Sacramento police homicide detectives later secured a warrant for Mills\u2019 arrest.<\/p>\n Sacramento County prosecutors last week filed a criminal complaint charging Mills with voluntary manslaughter in Kato Mills\u2019 death, along with felony allegations of firing a weapon at an inhabited building and illegally possessing an assault weapon.<\/p>\n Related Stories from Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n