A man accused of shooting his friend in a Lake Oconee mansion said he was protecting himself at the time.
In an exclusive interview at the jail with Channel 2's Mark Winne, Chad Haufler, 45, said he remembers the two had been drinking and had gotten into a fight but doesn't remember pulling the trigger. He called the shooting self-defense.
'I'm not denying that I did not do it," Haufler told Winne.
Channel 2 Action News first told you about this story when the shooting happened on Aug. 29.
NewsChopper 2 was above the scene of the mansion that day as officers scoured the yard of the large home for evidence. Crime scene tape roped off a large part of the home.
Police said Haufler called 911 around 6:30 a.m. to report the shooting at his home on Jones Bluff Court in Reynolds at Lake Oconee.
In the 911 call, Haufler said he had shot an intruder in his home. When deputies arrived, Marc Dimos, 51, was found dead in the basement.
Greene County Sheriff Donnie Harrison Jr. said investigators didn't believe the invasion story and hours later, they charged Haufler with murder.
In his interview with Winne, Haufler said Dimos was a friend of his that he met last year in Colorado during a hunting trip.
"We became close. We just clicked together. We became hunting buddies," Haufler said.
Haufler, a retired firefighter from Florida, said he has benefited from good family investments and was recently able to buy the large home on Lake Oconee.
Haufler indicated he'd invited Dimos to his family's $1.9 million-plus vacation home. He said they spent time riding in the boat, eating at the Ritz-Carlton and hanging out in the pool, shooting the breeze, until things took a turn.
Haufler suggests there is much he does not remember from the night of Aug. 26.
Haufler: "We were drinking."
Winne: "Were you drunk?"
Haufler: "Yes."
Winne: "Was Marc Dimos drunk also?"
Haufler: "I would assume so, yes. He was doing shots of tequila. I remember waking up on the floor and Marc has me in a chokehold and I can't breathe. And I remember struggling on the floor with him, fighting and wrestling. I had bruises all over my body and stuff."
Winne: "You don’t know what caused this?"
Haufler: "I don't know, I don't know what caused this. I'd never had any foul words with Marc at all, ever.
Winne: "Where did the gun come from?"
Haufler: "I don’t know where it was."
Winne: "Would you have been wearing the gun on you in your vacation home?"
Haufler: "No, but I would have a gun in my house."
Winne: "Would you have had it in the basement?"
Haufler: "Could’ve been."
When asked if this was a convenient loss of memory, Haufler said, "Oh, I really wish I could remember. It hurts me every night. I wish I could recall the whole incident."
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