Judge overturns murder conviction in loud music shooting

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- In 2012, Raul Rodriguez was sentenced to 40 years in prison for the deadly shooting of his neighbor. Now he could bond out after a judge overturned his conviction.

The decision reached Thursday says the jury did not receive proper instructions on what qualifies as self defense.

Rodriguez claimed he feared for his life when he confronted and killed Kelly Danahar back in 2010. Jurors disagreed, and convicted him of murder after a two-week trial featuring the video of the encounter recorded by Rodriguez himself.

Thursday's ruling allows Rodriguez to seek a new trial. In the meantime, he is eligible for bond.

"Reversals are extremely rare but I wasn't surprised because the jury instructions were so bad it allowed them to convict him for something he didn't do," his attorney Neal Davis said.

The prosecution has not commented on Thursday's decision.

According to his attorney, Rodriguez doesn't even know about the reversal because he's not allowed phone calls, and will likely find out by watching the news.