Judge denies ‘stand your ground’ defense in movie theater slaying

The judge in the Curtis Reeves stand your ground hearing has denied the motion. The case will go to trial.

Judge Susan Barthle issued her ruling Friday morning.

Reeves, 74, is facing second-degree murder charges in the Jan. 13, 2014, death of Chad Oulson.

The shooting occurred inside Cobb Theatre in Wesley Chapel after an argument about Oulson using his cell phone during the movie previews. Attorneys for Reeves, a retired Tampa police captain, were hoping to use a stand-your-ground defense, which was the purpose of the hearing.

Read Judge Susan Barthle's ruling (.pdf)

The hearing lasted multiple weeks with multiple witnesses testifying about what they saw during the argument between the men that ended with the shooting death of Oulson, 43.

Barthle ruled that the court did not find that Reeves' testimony was credible.

In her ruling, she wrote:

"The physical evidence contradicts the defendant’s version of events. For instance, the defendant testified that he was hit in the outside corner of his left eye with a cell phone or a fist. The video evidence contradicts this assertion, clearly showing that there was no hit from a fist, and the item argued by the defense to be a cell phone was simply a reflection from the defendant’s shoes.

Despite hours of testimony by the defense’s crime scene reconstruction expert in an effort to prove that the reflections seen in the video were those of a cell phone, other images of the defendant in the movie theater clearly show the same rectangle-shaped reflection on his shoes.

"The logical conclusion is that he was trying to justify his actions after the fact."

Witnesses, experts and police investigators testified for both sides during the hearing that began in late February.

Oulson's widow Nicole, who was injured in the shooting, testified during the hearing. Curtis Reeves testified in his own behalf, telling his version of the story.

If Barthle had ruled that the stand your ground applies, Reeves would have been immune from prosecution, as well as civil action from Chad Oulson's family.

This story was originally published March 10, 2017 at 10:11 AM with the headline "Judge denies ‘stand your ground’ defense in movie theater slaying."