City prosecutors ruled Thursday that a Johns Hopkins student who killed an intruder last fall by using a samurai sword was justified in his actions, according to a letter sent to homicide investigators.
State's Attorney Patricia C. Jessamy said prosecutors determined that the student, John Pontolillo, "reasonably believed he was in danger of imminent death or serious bodily injury" and was justified in striking Donald Rice, a 49-year-old repeat offender who is believed to have broken into the student's home earlier in the night.
The incident raised security concerns around the Johns Hopkins University campus, where burglaries remain an issue for students in off-campus housing. Pontolillo was cheered as a hero, with a Web site created in his honor and a candidate for student elected office alluding to the incident in a campaign slogan.
But there had remained a possibility - however remote - that Pontolillo could be criminally charged in Rice's death. Prosecutors took more than four months to review evidence collected during the police investigation.
Pontolillo, of Wall, N.J., was at home in the early morning of Sept. 14 when he heard a noise coming from the garage behind the three-story, five-bedroom house on East University Parkway that he rented with three other students. After canvassing the area with police and school security, Pontolillo grabbed a samurai sword and went out again, where he encountered Rice hiding in the dark.
Prosecutors said Pontolillo ordered Rice not to move, and Rice "came towards Mr. Pontolillo with arms raised." That language differs from the initial police account that Rice lunged at him.
"Because he could not determine if there was a weapon in Rice's hands, and fearing for his safety, Pontolillo swung one time as the intruder approached," the letter said.
Pontolillo nearly severed Rice's left hand, and he bled to death at the scene.
The student, who has not spoken publicly about the incident, could not be reached for comment but officials said he and his roommates have moved out of the home where the killing took place.
"Certainly, it's been very difficult for our student and also for the family of the deceased," said Dennis O'Shea, a university spokesman. "But we are relieved that the decision has been made that this was a matter of self-defense."
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