Anti-Crime Leader Shot in Back, Police Say : Charges: Detectives say suspect first wounded Keith Brown after Brown had turned away, negating any self-defense claim.

WINNETKA —  A Neighborhood Watch activist shot to death in a bloody confrontation with a neighbor suffered three bullet wounds in the back and one in the chin, police said Tuesday.

That finding helped police decide that the fatal shooting Sunday of Keith Brown by Scott Craft cannot be justified as self-defense, authorities said.

The investigation shows that Craft first shot Brown in the back of the shoulder, according to police. Brown, 42, then picked up a length of wood and advanced on Craft, but dropped the weapon.

Craft then shot Brown once in the chin, authorities said. Police believe that shot may have spun Brown around so that Craft’s next two shots struck him in the lower back.

Those revelations in the case, the first known shooting of one of the thousands of Neighborhood Watch volunteers, will be presented to prosecutors today, who will make the final decision on whether to charge Craft with a crime, and if so what.

Craft, 33, booked on suspicion of murder, was being held without bail. Records indicate that Craft has two prior misdemeanor convictions, including driving under the influence and solicitation to purchase a controlled substance, the city attorney’s office confirmed Tuesday. In both cases, Craft paid a fine and was sentenced to probation.

On Tuesday, several neighbors on the quiet, tree-lined Lorne Street, where the shooting took place, complained that it took 10 to 15 minutes for paramedics to treat Brown even after they had arrived on the scene.

Police said the delay was unavoidable.

“When there is an armed gunman in the area, the firemen and ambulance aren’t allowed to go in until the location is secured,” Detective Rick Swanston said. “They don’t have flak jackets and guns.”

Outside Brown’s home, his turquoise pool service work truck sat in the driveway as relatives and friends came and went, offering their words of condolence. His grief-stricken wife Kathy, the Neighborhood Watch captain, declined to discuss the incident but said a memorial was being set up to honor her husband. A trust fund was also in the works for their 5-year-old son, Koby.

The police investigation Tuesday brought into sharper focus the deadly confrontation. A key question earlier had been whether Brown was armed with a 5-foot-long 2-by-4 board when Craft fired the fatal shots.

Brown and his wife had approached Craft after a neighbor complained to them that Craft had yelled profanities at a grandmother and a child who were walking by his home.

The conversation quickly turned hostile. Witness Jon Wunderlin said in an interview that at the beginning of the confrontation, Craft had laughed and tried to egg Brown on in the argument. Kathy Brown left to call police.

Wunderlin said Craft then joked about scaring Brown after producing a .25-caliber handgun. Craft fired once, and said the gun contained a blank cartridge, Wunderlin said.

But Brown grabbed his shoulder as if he had been hit, Wunderlin said. While Craft laughed, Brown realized he was bleeding and said to Craft, “you shot me,” according to Wunderlin.

Authorities said that at that point, Craft put his gun away in his truck, parked nearby, but Brown, in fact shot in the shoulder, picked up the length of wood and walked toward him.

Detective Swanston said Brown put down the wood. Craft then allegedly shot him in the chin at very close range, Swanston said. The shot to the chin spun Brown around, and he was then immediately hit by two more bullets in the back, Swanston said.

Under California law, authorities could rule that Craft acted in self-defense if he believed his life was in imminent danger. Craft has told police that he felt threatened when Brown grabbed the wood.

Wunderlin said Brown was walking away before the fatal shots were fired.

“When Keith got shot the first time, he was walking away from Scott,” Wunderlin said. “So his chances of arguing for self-defense are slim to none.”

Brown and Craft were not known to be antagonistic, Wunderlin said.

“I don’t see how he could have disliked Keith,” Wunderlin said. “He was the most well-known person on the block.”