SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – What was a blossoming romance came to screeching halt and landed one of the lovers in a legal battle. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Christopher Hall, 31, was acquitted on Thursday of two felonies after he got into a confrontation with his ex-fiancé, her new boyfriend and a former neighbor.
Hall got into a whirlwind love affair with a 34-year-old woman after meeting her in a hacky sack circle in February. The pair decided to get engaged two weeks later and moved in together, but their romance didn’t last long.
The couple split up on March 25th and Hall left the home with his possessions and took up residence in a tree. However, the tree was uncomfortable and Hall decided to return to the home. Unbeknownst to him, his ex-fiancé was in the company of a former Marine and they were on their way back from a movie.
A scuffle ensued when they all came face-to-face back at the residence. The former Marine put Hall in a headlock and the ex-fiancé fled and told a neighbor that Hall was going to kill someone.
The neighbor responded by running out of his home shirtless and spraying Hall in the face with a can of bear mace. Hall fled the scene after hurling a rock at the home and was arrested hours later. He was charged with assault plus breaking and entering.
A jury found him innocent of both counts. He had paid rent so he had a legal right to be in the home and the Marine was uninjured in the fracas, which exonerated Hall of assault.
He was found guilty of misdemeanor vandalism, but that punishment pales in comparison to the seven years of jail time he faced for the felony charges.