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Florida man accused of killing iguana denied ‘stand your ground’ defense
NBC 2 ^ | June 3, 2021

Posted on 06/04/2021 4:56:07 AM PDT by billorites

A Florida man who is accused of beating an iguana to death asked a judge to dismiss animal cruelty charges on the basis of the state’s “stand your ground” law. The judge said no.

PJ Nilaja Patterson was arrested after allegedly dragging, kicking and beating a 3-foot iguana in Lake Worth, Florida on Sept. 2, according to court records. The animal died as Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control was transporting it to be euthanized, the affidavit states.

Patterson’s attorneys Frank Vasconcelos and Carey Haughwout said their client was engaging in self-defense after trying to save the iguana from a busy street. According to the motion, the animal subsequently became agitated by a crowd and bit Patterson’s right arm when he tried to move it. It says he then “kicked the iguana as far as he could.” Patterson had to get 22 staples in his arm because of the bite, according to the motion.

“In this case, Patterson acted in a reasonable manner under all the circumstances because the wild iguana was first to engage with physical violence, during the encounter,” his attorneys wrote.

Florida’s stand your ground law states deadly force can be used if a person “reasonably believes that using or threatening to use such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm.” Patterson’s attorneys argued that he had the right to defend himself since the iguana became aggressive first.

They also wrote that Patterson believed the iguana “could have injected poison” into him, CNN reported.

“Thus he rushed to incapacitate the iguana the best way he could in order to preserve its antidote,” they wrote.

Vasconcelos maintains his client’s innocence, and in an email to CNN, said they will “fight this case until the very end.” He also added that the iguana bite left his client with “permanent marks.”

Assistant State Attorney Alexandra Dorman wrote in response to the motion to dismiss that the entire episode was captured in a 32-minute surveillance video, CNN reported.

She wrote that the video shows how Patterson tormented the iguana, which “was not bothering anyone and did not pose a threat to anyone.” She said there was no provocation or no justification for the actions and that his behavior was unjustifiable.

During a necropsy, Dr. Virginia Sayre of Animal Control found that the iguana had a lacerated liver, fractured pelvis, blood in its mouth, blood in its abdomen and a lacerated tongue. She also said the lizard’s injuries were “painful and terrifying.”

“The Defendant unnecessarily put himself in a position to be bit by this animal,” Dorman wrote. “The State’s position is that Stand Your Ground does not even apply to this case because the iguana is not a human being.”

Patterson is due back in court in late July. If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison for animal cruelty.



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To: billyboy15

Sorry. I did read the article. The guy was trying to save the iguana from getting run over. The iguana didn’t see it that way, felt provoked and bit him. When you get bit by an iguana you’re trying in good faith to help, let me know how you like it.


21 posted on 06/04/2021 5:20:30 AM PDT by Eleutheria5 ("The impossible happens all the time. You just have to believe." Will Robinson)
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To: billyboy15

Most serial killers start off being animal abusers..


22 posted on 06/04/2021 5:24:03 AM PDT by glimmerman70
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To: lodi90
python season opened today here in Florida.

The Swamp People guys will be there shortly......

23 posted on 06/04/2021 5:24:04 AM PDT by Hot Tabasco
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To: billorites

the tl;dr summary on this is the iguana was in the street, the man tried to pull it out of the street to save it, the iguana bit him hard, he drop-kicked it.


24 posted on 06/04/2021 5:24:28 AM PDT by babble-on
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To: Kartographer

They are all over in south florida. Some places infested with them and are mean.


25 posted on 06/04/2021 5:25:03 AM PDT by glimmerman70
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To: billyboy15

“Animals attack out of fear not malice.”

A wild animal stuck on a highway is in danger. The animal might not understand that. As such, someone who comes to his aid might get bit. But the animal was an imposition in the first place. It didn’t belong on the highway and would have died very shortly if left to its own devices. So if it bites its would-be savior, justifiably, its life is forfeit. What if a scorpion or a rattler feels provoked.


26 posted on 06/04/2021 5:25:19 AM PDT by Eleutheria5 ("The impossible happens all the time. You just have to believe." Will Robinson)
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To: billyboy15

What a bunch of garbacious horse shit

I read about men who shoot iguanas for a living to collect the bounty paid on surrender of the dead carcass.

The shooting is accomplished with a pellet rifle


27 posted on 06/04/2021 5:25:26 AM PDT by bert ( (KE. NP. N.C. +12) Like BLM, Joe Biden is a Domestic Enemy )
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To: Eleutheria5
"Hey, new guy. Whatchoo in for? Beat a lizard to death."

"Lizard beating," could be the new, "monkey spanking," or, "chicken choking."

28 posted on 06/04/2021 5:27:00 AM PDT by Joe 6-pack
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To: lodi90

Yeah they pull some monsters out of the swamps and Everglades.


29 posted on 06/04/2021 5:27:31 AM PDT by glimmerman70
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To: Kartographer
It’s not. YouTube is full of videos of people sniping, snaring , and trapping iguanas in a Florida. It’s a cottage industry.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HcnXshfXBfs

30 posted on 06/04/2021 5:27:55 AM PDT by gundog (It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. )
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To: Joe 6-pack

My lizard refuses to die. It’s up and feisty a few hours later.


31 posted on 06/04/2021 5:28:07 AM PDT by Eleutheria5 ("The impossible happens all the time. You just have to believe." Will Robinson)
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To: LRoggy
I get a kick out of the Youtube videos of guys down there hunting them with air rifles.......

Apparently enterprising guys are offering Iguana hunting tours in Costa Rica....

32 posted on 06/04/2021 5:28:13 AM PDT by Hot Tabasco
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To: glimmerman70

I thought the invasive pythons were eating all the lesser critters in the everglades.


33 posted on 06/04/2021 5:29:52 AM PDT by Eleutheria5 ("The impossible happens all the time. You just have to believe." Will Robinson)
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To: WilliamOrby

Of course. You’re going to torture that poor worm just so you can use it to murder a fish!


34 posted on 06/04/2021 5:31:23 AM PDT by Eleutheria5 ("The impossible happens all the time. You just have to believe." Will Robinson)
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To: billyboy15

Utter BS, since the term you use is purely subjective. Eat meat? Kill veggies?

The lizard isn’t even a game animal and is invasive, so not even protected by law.

They are tough. Sure, he probably went too far in his silly antics, but not a felony.

Yet in FL, unborn humans are dismembered and thrown in the trash.

Too bad he didn’t just shoot it. But that would be unacceptable too.

Glad I live in the country and have space and a shovel.


35 posted on 06/04/2021 5:31:56 AM PDT by Manly Warrior (US ARMY (Ret), "No Free Lunches for the Dogs of War" )
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To: billyboy15

” “

Gary Johnston: We were all out at the zoo one day. I was doing some acting, walking on the railing of the gorilla exhibit. I fell in. Everyone screamed and Tommy jumped in after me, forgetting that he had blueberries in his front pocket. The gorillas just went wild. They jumped all over his body and... threw him around like a rag doll to get to those blueberries. One gorilla would throw him to another gorilla who, tossed him to another... Everyone panicked and cried out for somebody to help but it was too late. The gorillas... beat him to death, before the zookeepers could gas them all. My acting... got my brother killed. I got to live with that, every single day.

Lisa: Gary, you can’t blame yourself for what gorillas did.


36 posted on 06/04/2021 5:32:12 AM PDT by BBB333 (The Power Of Trump Compels You!)
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To: billyboy15

Children abuse animals all the time. I remember how proud I was when I used my bow and arrow to decapitate a small snake. I was eleven. Then there was the time my best friend and I went frog hunting. My mother refused to make frogs’ legs, so we had to dump them back in the pond.


37 posted on 06/04/2021 5:35:09 AM PDT by Eleutheria5 ("The impossible happens all the time. You just have to believe." Will Robinson)
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To: billorites

If he tortured it, I’d hold him for evaluation for institutionalization. Other than that I’d have to see the report or footage. These are known pests but so are psychopaths.


38 posted on 06/04/2021 5:37:01 AM PDT by Caipirabob (Communists...Socialists...Fascists & AntiFa...Democrats...Traitors... Who can tell the difference?)
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To: billorites
Animal Care and Control was transporting it to be euthanized,

Instead of a quick bop on the head.
And all during the ride it's suffering.
Bleeding heart morons.

39 posted on 06/04/2021 5:37:15 AM PDT by TangoLimaSierra (⭐⭐To the left, truth is right-wing extremism.⭐⭐)
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To: Eleutheria5

“I was eleven”

Bluegill + firecracker = when I was eleven.


40 posted on 06/04/2021 5:37:24 AM PDT by VastRWCon (Fake News")
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