A former San Jose Earthquakes player and soccer coach is opening up about the confrontation that ended with him shooting and killing a friend inside his home.
Dave Gold said he acted in self-defense when he shot and killed Ronald Morris, his friend of 50 years. Gold has since been cleared of any charges.
“I took his life and I can’t stop thinking about him,” Gold said.
Gold said Morris had been staying at his home and was drinking heavily. Gold said when he asked Morris to leave, Morris threatened to kill him. Gold told NBC Bay Area he had just had spinal surgery and was worried he couldn’t defend himself if Morris made good on the threat. He also said Morris had severely beaten him four years earlier.
Gold said he grabbed his gun and fired a warning shot into the wall of his family room. Morris then jumped on him and started pummeling him, Gold said. Gold then fired his gun three times, killing Morris.
“I had no choice,” Gold said. “He was killing me. He was going to spend the rest of his life in jail either way. I loved his family. I loved his grandkids. I loved his daughters. I was Uncle Goldie. I took all that away from them. I didn’t want to. I did not want to. I gotta live with that for the rest of my life.”
The district attorney’s office has cleared Gold of all criminal liability in the death, but Gold said he’s now facing a wrongful death lawsuit from Morris’ family.
An attorney for the Morris family questions why Gold would let Morris stay at his home if he had beaten him in the past. The attorney also said they want to know why Gold didn’t call 911 or leave his home if he felt threatened.
Gold said he is now working to restore his reputation and return to coaching youth soccer.
“I’m a good person put into a horrible situation,” he said. “I couldn’t back out of it. I was gonna die.”
Source: NBC Bay Area