Fla. jogger won't be charged for shooting teen

[RamboLiberal]

A pistol-packing jogger in Florida won't be charged for shooting and killing a teenager who attacked him during a midnight run.

Prosecutors said Tuesday they are convinced Thomas Baker acted in self defense when he fired eight shots at 18-year-old Carlos Mustelier near Tampa in November .

Prosecutors say Florida's "stand-your-ground" law was a factor in their decision. The law, passed in 2005, gives people the right to use deadly force as long as they "reasonably believe" it is necessary to stop another person from hurting them.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/01/12/fla-jogger-wont-charged-shooting-teen/

Baker, 28, told investigators he was out jogging when he came upon Mustelier and Mustelier's 16-year-old friend near Pinehurst Drive and Hickory Circle after 1 a.m.

Baker told the sheriff's office he thought Mustelier was trying to rob him and appeared to be reaching for a gun. He said Mustelier struck him and he feared for his life.

Baker fired several shots at Mustelier. Neither teen was armed.

Criminal Defense Attorney Eddie Suarez, who has been involved with similar cases, explained that Florida's Stand Your Ground law passed in 2005 re-defines when you can act in self defense.

"Before the Stand Your Ground law, you had a duty to retreat first, if you could do that safely," said Suarez. "Now you no longer have a duty to retreat. If you are in fear of death or serious bodily injury or someone is trying to commit a forceable felony on you, you don't have to retreat. You can stand your ground and use deadly force if necessary.

(The friend of the dead teen) In an interview, he told detectives Mustelier thought Baker was someone else and said after they saw him in the street: "I'm gonna rob him ... I'm gonna bam him ... swear to God ... I'm gonna knock him out."

http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/dpp/news/local/hillsborough/no-charges-in-town-%27n%27-country-shooting-01112010

"When you go running at night in the neighborhood, do you normally arm yourself with a firearm?" a detective asked.

"I always have it on me, unless I'm going to the courthouse," Baker replied.

Detectives corroborated his story through other interviews, made public Tuesday.

His brother and a friend told detectives that Baker usually jogged after midnight. Baker said he had been running for about a week and a half, trying to get in shape to join the military.

He's unemployed but told detectives he makes money fixing friends' cars. He had just been paid for car work and a part, he said, and that's why he had a lot of cash in his pocket, $950.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/jogger-wont-be-charged-in-fatal-town-n-country-shooting/1144768

Sounds justified self-defense to me even without stand your ground. Maybe it could've turned out another way but none of us were there.

[shadowrider]

1. The incident was thoroughly investigated and prosecutors decided not to charge

Good. Sounds as if the jogger acted within the law and successfully defended his/her life.

[yellowcanine]

2. Strange case though. Who goes jogging with $950 in cash?

[badtoworse]

3. Violent criminals have killed for only a few dollars

[shadowrider]

4. Last I heard, carrying that much cash isn't illegal regardless the time of day n/t

[yellowcanine]

5. Not my point. Just seems weird, that's all.

[PavePusher]

6. It's entirely possible his jogging route took him past the place where he got paid...

or past the bank where he intended to make a deposit. Or maybe he was jogging home from working late (not everyone works 9-5).