Posted on 05/21/2023 3:37:24 PM PDT by Tired of Taxes
Attorneys pored over surveillance-camera footage in court this month, slowing it down and blowing it up day after day so jurors could scrutinize the decision Brandon Cowins said he had only moments to make when a gunman opened fire outside his home.
Egged on by his girlfriend — or to protect others in his Greenacres neighborhood from the bullets — Cowins reversed his car out of the driveway and raced down the street to where 20-year-old Anthony Esquivel fled after he stopped pulling the trigger. Cowins swerved into Esquivel as he ran, striking him with his car and throwing him 40 feet. He died instantly.
Deputies charged Cowins with premeditated murder on July 24, 2021. He fought the charge at trial last week, leaving jurors to decide whether he killed Esquivel in a fit of rage or to prevent what he believed was imminent danger. The jury landed somewhere in between.
They didn't believe Cowins plotted to kill Esquivel, but they didn't think he was justified in killing him, either. Jurors convicted the 27-year-old man of second-degree murder Friday, sparing him an automatic life sentence and leaving his fate to the discretion of Circuit Judge Daliah Weiss.
Family dispute in Greenacres neighborhood interrupted by gunfire An argument between Esquivel and his mother's boyfriend precipitated the shooting along Urquhart Street, just south of Lake Worth Road. Witnesses testified that the men fought loudly over Esquivel's decision to spend the previous night with a woman. The dispute woke Cowins and his girlfriend, asleep next door.
Cowins' girlfriend walked to the yard they shared with the Esquivel family to act as a mediator... Cowins was more interested in replacing the air filter in his car. He stood in the driveway with his car keys in hand when Esquivel fired his gun feet away.
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
This man lost control and crashed his car into a residence while chasing the other man down, but I can't find information on whether he was charged for that crash.
He was charged with 1st degree murder for hitting and killing the man who'd shot at people. He claimed he didn't know he'd hit the man until he got out of the car. He said he chased after the man because he thought he might shoot at his other neighbors.
The jury has convicted him of 2nd degree manslaughter, and he's facing up to 30 years.
What say you?
Probation.
Pin a medal on him.
L
NOT guilty.
Case dismissed.
My definition of self-defense is extremely broad. I think this guy did the right thing.
I don’t know Florida law, but most states forbid you to shoot the bad guy once he turns away and retreats.
Whether that is reasonable or not is not the case. It is the law. You are supposed to call the cops and let them pursue the bad guy.
His best hope would be jury nullification, but that happens relatively rarely.
Regardless, anyone who owns a weapon is a fool if he does not know the law and how the local prosecutors interpret the law. There are too many traps for the unwary.
No Arnold Ziffel?
**striking him with his car and throwing him 40 feet. He died instantly. ***
Had the perp lived would the cops have charged him with “Leaving the scene of an accident?”
The headline isn’t very clear.
This guy didn’t shoot the man who shot at other people. He drove after him and hit him with his car.
He says he didn’t intend to hit him. He only meant to chase after him.
But, the man died at the scene, and the police charged this other man with murder for hitting him.
Now, he’s been convicted and is facing 30 years.
“Attorneys pored over surveillance-camera footage in court this month, slowing it down and blowing it up day after day so jurors could scrutinize the decision”
“the decision Brandon Cowins said he had only moments to make”
If there is reasonable doubt, you must acquit.
It was Arnold...
“Oliver...don’t shoost the neighbor”
Several years ago in this state, a convenience store clerk chased a thief out of the store, They got in a fight in the parking area and the clerk clubbed the guy with a piece of wood.
Hed was charged on the grounds that when the robber exited the store, he was no longer a threat.
As I said, there are traps. Beware.
$50 fine.
Suspended.
Once a person starts shooting, that person is a threat until eliminated. I am not a cop with a bunch of non lethal tools nor tasked with trying to bring the shooter in alive.
Not Guilty
I am very tired of a legal system that persecutes ordinary citizens when they resist criminal activities - and routinely frees criminals to continue their predatory activities.
Killing a gunman after he has just fired on neighbors is proper exercise of the "fleeing felon" doctrine. There is no other reliable way to prevent the criminal from doing further harm.
The State consistently fails to protect citizens and has thus invalidated their claim to a monopoly on the use of force.
2nd Degree murder sounds harsh. Reckless driving.
What about the folks Esquivel was shooting at ? What is their take ? Probably glad they’re rid of the bastage.
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