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Stand Your Ground laws

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A gun owner in Florida was arrested on Wednesday after he opened fire at a suspected Walmart shoplifter because he said he felt threatened and wanted to "mark" the man's car for police.

As unarmed 42-year-old Eddie McKee allegedly ran from an Orange City Walmart with stolen merchandise, 35-year-old Jose Martinez pulled out his gun and fired at least five bullets, according to WKMG.

"I saw one black gentleman running from the parking lot, he dove in his car," a caller told 911. "And there were two older gentlemen chasing him down. One drew a gun, ripped open the guys car door and screamed, 'Freeze, freeze, don't move!' And then fired shots."

Bullets riddled McKee's vehicle, hitting the trunk and shattering the back window. Two other cars were also hit by gunfire.

Martinez told WKMG that he was shocked that police arrested him because he thought no one other than the shoplifter was in danger. He said he just wanted to mark the man's car for police.

Orange City police argued that surveillance video showed that the gun owner was never in danger because McKee was in the process of fleeing when the shooting occurred.

Martinez has permit to carry a concealed weapon in Florida, but was charged with aggravated assault and shooting into an occupied vehicle, both felonies.

McKee faced a misdemeanor charge after police caught up with him in DeLand.



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A Texas man says he was justified in killing an elementary school teacher over a noise complaint because he was "standing my ground."

Retired firefighter Raul Rodriguez is hoping that a video that he taped himself will prove that he was acting in self-defense when he gunned down P.E. teacher Kelly Danaher outside the victim's home near Houston in May 2010.

On the video that was presented as evidence in court on Wednesday, loud music can be heard as Rodriguez tells Danaher to "turn it down."

"You need to stop right there," Rodriguez says. "Don't come any closer please. I'm telling you, I'm telling you, stop, I said stop right now or I will shoot you! ... I fear for my life. I told you to stop, my life's in danger, you got weapons on you, stay away from me."

While standing in Danaher's driveway with a flashlight and a gun, Rodriguez is also on the phone with a 911 dispatcher using the buzzwords he learned in concealed weapons class, according to the prosecutor.

At one point, one the men Rodriguez confronted suggests that he will get his own gun: "When I go in that house and come back, don’t think I won’t be equal to you, baby."

"I'm talking to you, and I mean, I'm scared to death here," Rodriguez explains to the dispatcher. "It's about to get out of hand, sir. Please help me, now. I'm standing my ground here."

Moments later, the video ends after a crack of gunfire.

"This is a difficult defense to mount," legal analyst Dana Cole told ABC News. "He had no injury, he brought a gun to a noise complaint, and it appeared he was escalating it by baiting the party-goers."

KHOU legal expert Gerald Treece also questioned the suspect's motive.

"Nobody’s hold your own ground, or stand your own ground laws are ever on the side of the person who started the fight," Treece said.

Texas' "Castle Doctrine" is similar to Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law because it says that gun owners no longer have a "duty to retreat."

In the wake of the killing of Florida teen Trayvon Martin earlier this year, state Rep. Garnet Coleman (D) warned that the same type of situation was possible in Texas.

"It can happen here," Coleman pointed out. "The law is the same - the law that protects the guy that shot Trayvon."

Rodriguez is expected to testify in a trial that will continue through the end of the week.



Geraldo Rivera has been sticking to his talking points that if Trayvon Martin had not been wearing a hoodie, he may not have been shot and killed by George Zimmerman and that "dressing like a wannabe gangster" contributed to his death. On his show this Sunday evening, Rivera was called out for his blame the victim game by Martin's attorney, who chastised Rivera for embarrassing his son again with the hoodie remarks and likened his justification of the Martin shooting to those who would justify rape by blaming the victim for what clothing they were wearing.

As our friends at News Hounds reported, this past Friday, Geraldo went on Bill O'Reilly's show and said this: Geraldo Rivera: It’s Reasonable For George Zimmerman To Have Racially Profiled Trayvon Martin Because Of His Size, Race And Hoodie “Thugwear”.

Here's more from their post on Geraldo being called out by Martin's attorney, Benjamin Crump: Trayvon Martin Attorney Tells Geraldo Rivera: You’re Embarrassing Your Son Again With Your Latest Hoodie Comments:

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