Deadly Road Rage Set for March 2 Trial

A March 2 trial date has been set in the murder case against Martin Edward Zale, 69, accused of shooting a father of two in a a deadly road-rage conflict last summer.

Zale, of Marion Township, is expected to argue self-defense. He is charged with open murder and firearms offenses, the Detroit Free Press reports.

Authorities alleged Zale shot Derek Flemming, 43,while the two motorists had stopped at a traffic light on the afternoon of Sept. 2. Police said Flemming was confronting Zale about his driving when Zale shot him.

Flemming and his wife, Amy, were on their way to pick up their children from the first day of school when the fatal confrontation occurred. Amy Flemming testified at a probable cause hearing last month that when he was shot, her husband “fell like a marionette puppet having its strings cut.”

Zale’s self-defense argument is expected to center around the stand-your-ground claim. His attorney, Melissa Pearce, previously said the defendant has evidence, which has not been disclosed, to support the claim.

Related:

• Little Girl’s Heartbreaking Discovery after Her Daddy is Killed in Road Rage
• Driver Shoots Another in Apparent Road Rage
• Attorney Arguing Self-Defense in Deadly Road Rage: ‘Whole Story Has Not Been Heard’
• Report: Defendant, Victim Both Had History of Road Rage
• Defendant Bound Over for Trial after Emotional Testimony in Deadly Road Rage

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Martin Edward Zale photo via Livingston County Sheriff’s Office