A claim of self-defense has won dismissal of murder charges against a 25-year-old St. Paul man who shot his father eight times during a confrontation in an apartment that also left the son wounded by gunfire.

Royal Terrell Arrington had two counts of second-degree murder dropped in connection with the killing last fall of his 44-year-old father, whose name also is Royal Terrell Arrington.

Arrington was freed after being jailed nearly 10 months until the murder charges were dropped last week.

"After a thorough review of the evidence, including the forensic evidence and medical examiner's report, the Ramsey County Attorney's Office determined it could not disprove a self-defense claim beyond a reasonable doubt as to the homicide charge," the Ramsey County Attorney's Office said in a statement Friday.

Arrington did plead guilty to a related charge of possessing a gun without a permit in a public place, and Judge Kelly Olmstead sentenced Arrington to one year and one day in prison.

"My client sustained life-threatening injuries," defense attorney Bethany O'Neill said Monday. "He had a very strong self-defense case."

The judge gave Arrington credit for the 296 days he was in custody on the murder charges and deemed that his sentence "has been satisfied," meaning no further incarceration, according to court records.

"We noticed the self-defense claim pretty early on," said O'Neill, who explained that a court backlog played a role in slowing resolution of her client's case. "I wish the system could act faster when we have a case like this."

Police arrived at the apartment in the 1200 block of Westminster Street on Sept. 24 and saw the father down in a hallway unresponsive and not breathing. Medics declared him dead at the scene. The Medical Examiner's Office determined the father had been shot eight times.

The son was brought from the apartment to Regions Hospital by a private party and was treated for a gunshot wound to one arm and a cheek.

The father's sister told officers that there had been a family feud over living arrangements at the apartment, according to the criminal complaint.