Wellington Man Acquitted of Murder But Sentenced for Firearms Charge
Florida’s “stand your ground” law allows citizens to use their firearms to protect themselves from an intruder into their homes or vehicles, or an attacker in a public place. This was hailed by firearms law experts, including our own Fort Lauderdale firearms criminal defense attorneys, as an advance that cleared up legal ambiguities and took away the possibility of prison for law-abiding gun owners who act in self-defense. However, it doesn’t apply to all firearms charges in Florida, which led to an interesting result Feb. 16. According to an article in the Palm Beach Post, a young man was acquitted of murder under the stand your ground law, but convicted of the less serious crime of discharging a firearm from a vehicle.
William Wilkerson was originally accused of killing Jason Payne in 2007, outside of a party where many people had been drinking. Wilkerson had reportedly been flirting with Payne’s girlfriend. Wilkerson was sitting in his vehicle, getting ready to leave, when Payne smashed the driver’s side window. Wilkerson fired his gun three times, killing Payne. The Palm Beach County jury determined that the first two shots were acts of self-defense under the stand your ground law, which authorizes lethal force in cases where someone is trying to forcibly enter a vehicle, or attacks another in public. However, the jury found that the third shot was unnecessary and endangered other people at the party. He was sentenced to four years in prison followed by four years of probation.
As West Palm Beach gun crimes defense lawyers, we can’t help but notice that Wilkerson was convicted of discharging a firearm from a vehicle -- not discharging a firearm in public, a misdemeanor carrying up to a year in prison. As you might guess, the crime of discharging a firearm from a vehicle was intended to cover drive-by shootings -- not cases of possibly overzealous self-defense. That is, Wilkerson was convicted under a law designed for very different circumstances. In fact, this application of the law may conflict with the stand your ground law, since that law specifically identifies a vehicle break-in as a circumstance where self-defense is allowed. When quick action is needed, it may be hard to tell whether another shot is a legal act of self-defense or a crime.
At Law offices of Sebastian John Balliro, P.A., we vigorously defend people facing firearms charges in Florida. Particularly in cases that attract a lot of attention from prosecutors or the media, we believe public hysteria has created overly harsh gun laws that sometimes penalize citizens for exercising their rights under the Second Amendment. We believe in protecting the rights of legal and responsible gun owners; partner Sebastian Balliro is an NRA referral attorney and several of our lawyers are hunters, marksmen or collectors. Our Miami weapons charges criminal defense attorneys protect clients from prosecutors’ overreaching and work to get them a fair resolution to their legal problems, whether that means a plea or a strong defense in court.
Balliro offers free, confidential consultations to all potential clients. To set one up, please contact us through the Internet or call toll-free from anywhere in Florida at 1-866-FIREARMS.
