car parked outside their residence and hysterically called Pepin. One of the men had thrown a rock at their home. Pepin subsequently demanded that Madrid stop harassing his family. Madrid laughingly dismissed Pepin's complaints, but there was apparently some residual fear of Madrid in Pepin's family.

B. Prosecution
The government's view of the case is quite different. It reflects a defendant aggressively seeking out two drug associates, Rosario and Madrid, intending to kill them, and then deliberately murdering them. If they turned on him, he had ample opportunity to avoid immediate danger to himself and his family without killing.

1. José Rosario
To facilitate his drug business, Pepin used a false name to rent an apartment at Sherman Avenue in the Bronx. He did not live in the apartment. Rather, Pepin andto the Sherman Avenue apartment when both Loyola and Pepin were present. Nelo told Pepin that Rosario had sent him to the apartment to kill Pepin and steal his drugs and money. The next day, September 17, 1992, Rosario came to see Pepin at the apartment.
Once inside the apartment, Rosario sat on a couch in the living room. Pepin went to the bathroom and summoned Loyola. Pepin then showed Loyola a .22 caliber revolver and the two men returned to the living room. While brandishing the revolver, Pepin asked Rosario if he had intended to kill him. Rosario hesitated and started to rise from the couch. Pepin told Rosario that he was a piece of dirt and shot him several times.
After the shooting, Pepin told Loyola to help