By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com
Sacramento police said they will let the district attorney determine if a fatal shooting at a hotel early this morning was self defense.
A man who was involved in a drunken fight was shot and killed in a hotel room by another man who intervened in the altercation.
The dead man was identified as Christopher Maurice Johnston, 29, of Sacramento.
Police said that the shooting of Johnston began with a disturbance at the Canterbury hotel, 1900 Canterbury Road. Officers arrived at 12:50 a.m. to find Johnston shot and killed inside a room with a broken window.
Detectives and crime scene investigators said Johnston had gotten drunk and into a fight with a friend. A neighboring motel resident came out and broke up the fight, then headed back to his room.
Not long after that, police believe, Johnston broke out the window of the hotel room rented by the man who intervened and went inside. At that time, the intruder was shot, police said.
Police said the peacemaking motel resident was initially detained but is no longer being questioned. The police investigation will be forwarded to the Sacramento County District Attorney's office for a determination of whether the shooting was done in self defense.
Call The Bee's Bill Lindelof, (916) 321-1079.
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