Another 'stand your ground' case? MetroWest shooting suspect claims he was attacked

Orlando Sentinel ^ | 1-17-14 | Jeff Weiner and Arelis R. Hernández

[smokingfrog]

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."

[smokingfrog]

It does sound a bit suspicious ...

[smokingfrog]

I bet that would work!

[lastchance]

“Smith said he grabbed Sanes’ hooded sweatshirt and tried to force Sanes back to his house ‘so the police could be called.’”

Sorry not SYG, Smith initiated the use of force when there was no threat to him.

[jimsin]

WOW THIS IS PUZZLING THIS IS A CASE FOR ALPHONSO COLUMBO AT THE VERY LEAST WE MAY EVEN HAVE TO MAKE A CALL TO JAMES ‘SONNY’ CROCKETT IF THAT DONT WORK I SAY WE RING UP...HARRY CALLAHAN AND OR JACK WEBB....PERHAPS THEO KOJAC’D TAKE THE CASE...OR MAYBE THAT Stella Bonasera SHE’S HOT...BUT NOT THAT OLD LANSBURY GAL..SHE’S NO FUN...

ANY OTHER FAVORITES FREEPERS?

[Uncle Chip]

This one is a toss-up at this point.

Are there any pictures of them when they were 12 to help tip the scales???

[Organic Panic]

I’m all for SYG and a huge supporter of self defense. I’ll wait for the facts of the case to find out. But if there are wounds in the back that does not lend itself to SYG.

[SeminoleCounty]

MetroWest is an area of nice residences, but near some of the worst ghettoes in Orlando area. Crime is always a problem.

So, I could buy a SYG defense from a MetroWest resident...there have been some nasty assaults and killings in that area over the years

[Frank_2001]

What about EMMA PEEL? ;)

[jimsin]

Yes Emma Emma Emma long tall & cool EMMA....already

[jimsin]

Yes s/c people in Metro west are always getting accosted by nearby thugs at bus stops et al and then hauled to ATMs where they are so so then robbed and worse....

[gitmo]

I’d pull in Adrian Monk.

[gitmo]

Every ATM card should have two PINs. One is the normal PIN, the other a Mayday PIN that dispenses money but sends a call to the police that the user at this ATM has been kidnapped.