Unfortunately the people of Florida are starting to realize that when you have bad laws you get bad results.The latest high profile "stand your ground" case from that wacky state should be quite interesting.
In this particular case, unlike the case of Trayvon Martin, both the shooter and the victim were people of color.
Most of the Zimmerman supporters will not give the shooter in this case the benefit of the doubt, because this shooter is not a white [Hispanic] neighborhood watch guy, who shot some "young black punk" in self -defense.
And then there is the flip side: The same people, who called for an arrest and thorough investigation of George Zimmerman, should be asking that the same level of scrutiny be placed on Claudius Smith.
"The gunman accused of chasing and killing a 21-year-old man at a west Orlando apartment complex on Thursday told police he was pursuing a suspected burglar and acted in self-defense after he was attacked.
A police account of the shooter's self-defense claim obtained by the Orlando Sentinel suggests this could be the latest local homicide in which the state's controversial "stand your ground" law becomes a factor.
Police were called to the shooting just before noon Thursday at the Fountains at MetroWest apartments. They arrived to find 21-year-old Ricardo Sanes dead in the grass, surrounded by six .45-caliber shell casings.
The alleged shooter, 32-year-old Claudius Smith, was caught later Thursday. Smith told detectives that he had shot someone "in self defense," according to a police report.
Smith said he was inside his house on Carter Street when his girlfriend, looking at a outdoor surveillance monitor, spotted someone in dark clothing "walking around his yard," who "was last seen climbing over the fence into" the apartment complex.
Smith told police he had been having "a recent problem with burglaries at his house ... and he was certain the unknown male was responsible," a police account states, so he "began chasing the unknown male."
According to police, Smith admitted jumping the fence into the apartment complex, armed with a .45-caliber handgun, where he said he saw Sanes "looking into windows of apartments as he walked past them."
Smith admitted pulling his gun and confronting Sanes, and when Sanes tried to walk away, Smith said he grabbed Sanes' hooded sweatshirt and tried to force Sanes back to his house "so the police could be called."
Smith told police Sanes "punched him in the mouth and grabbed for his gun."
"[Smith's] immediate response was to pull the trigger and fire shots at [Sanes]," [Source]
I bet that if he is arrested Claudius Smith will not be getting thousands of dollars from supporters all over the country to pay for his legal defense.
Stay tuned.
