Stand Your Ground is being invoked again in the murder case of Ricardo Sanes
Claudius Smith(left), has been charged with the second degree murder of Ricardo Sanes(right) after Smith shot and killed Sanes in a west Orlando apartment complex this past Thursday.
Smith’s defense is that he shot the 21 year old after he was punched in the mouth during an alleged robbery. The 32 year old told investigators that he shot in self defense and the controversial “Stand Your Ground” law will definitely be a determining factor in this case.
Last year, George Zimmerman was found innocent in the shooting death of 17 year old Trayvon Martin when he and his attornies used Stand Your Ground as their primary defense. Marissa Alexander is currently facing a similar Stand Your Ground case, in which she faces 20 years for firing a weapon into a wall in order to scare off an abusive boyfriend. That case is still pending.
Smith initially confronted Sanes after his girlfriend alerted him that someone in dark clothing was “walking around his yard”. Smith ran outside, jumped a fence, and attempted to grab Sanes, who according to Smith’s description, was wearing a hoodie and sagging pants. According to Smith’s admission to police, when he tried to grab Sanes, he was punched and Sanes tried to grab his gun, in return he fired six shots from his .45 caliber pistol, killing Sanes.
Allegedly, authorities found a .40 caliber pistol “concealed in the crotch area of [Sanes’] pants”. Smith admitted to the police that he did not know that Sanes was armed.
There are many glaring similarities between this case and the Trayvon Martin case, in that both defendants claimed self defense, took action on suspected burglars, and both of the deceased wore hoodies.
TheSource.com will keep you updated on this story as it develops.
-Sha Be Allah(@KingPenStatus)
