restaurant owner charged with murder in fatal shooting

In Denver, the owner of a downtown restaurant and sushi bar has been charged with murder in a fatal shooting last month at his business: Restaurant owner charged with murder in downtown shooting.

Last week, the District Attorney charged Yan "Dave" Yang with first degree murder and first degree assault in the the death of 29-year-old Lloyd Running Bear, who was shot multiple times in the chest. The shooting happened on October 22 at Chopsticks & Sushi.

Yang told investigators he shot Running Bear in self-defense as he was being choked. But according to court documents, witnesses say the restaurant owner was confronted over money he owed

According to the affidavit, a witness inside the restaurant at the time of the shooting told police she overheard parts of a conversation between Yang and the two men, including Yang saying: "I paid your uncle the money."

One of the two men made a cell phone call and Yang got on the phone and talked to someone for a short time, the witness told police.

The witness, according to the affidavit, then heard Yang yelling "do not intimidate me" and "do not touch me."

The witness told investigators she heard a gunshot and then saw Yang "slightly bent over and pointing toward the ground."

She then heard two more shots, the affidavit said.

Based on the description in the article, I don't quite understand what happened here. Whatever the case, something shady transpired -- but was it self defense? The D.A. obviously didn't think so. With the owner facing a murder charge, I'm thinking Chopsticks & Sushi won't be around for much longer.