Westgate, Florida

Resolution to this incident
(This will be moved to the original post in seven days.)

From Palm Beach Gardens’ WPBF.com of June 25, 2007

Man Not Guilty In October Jeep Shooting

Jury: Shooter Acted In Self-Defense

A jury ruled Monday that a Westgate man who shot into a Jeep, killing two men and injuring another, was acting in self-defense.

After a six-day trial, the jury found Norman Borden not guilty of charges that included two counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted murder and one count of shooting into an occupied vehicle.

Borden shot at three men who were in the Jeep in October 2006. The shooting happened after the group confronted Borden as he walked his dogs.

Christopher Araujo and Saul Trejo were killed in the shooting. The third passenger, Juan Mendez, was injured.

Borden's defense argued he fired the shots because he feared for his life. Borden claims the three men had tried to run him over in the Jeep.

But the prosecution said though Borden's first shots were in self-defense, he committed murder when he stepped in front of the Jeep and fired more rounds at the vehicle.

Earlier accounts of this made much of its being the first test of Florida’s ‘Castle Doctrine’ law, but no mention above.

From the Thibodaux (LA) Daily Comet of June 25, 2007

Jury finds man not guilty in early morning jeep shooting

…

Borden's defense argued he fired the shots because he feared for his life. Borden claims the three men had tried to run him over in the Jeep.

But the prosecution said though Borden's first shots were in self-defense, he committed murder when he stepped in front of the Jeep and fired more rounds at the vehicle. Florida's 2005 stand your ground law allows someone to use deadly force to avoid bodily harm and eliminates the duty to retreat.

From the Palm Beach Post of June 26, 2007

Man said he killed two attackers in self-defense

Norman Borden became the first defendant in Palm Beach County to beat murder charges under the state's Castle Doctrine law, which expands an individual's right to self-defense, when a jury acquitted him of all charges Monday in connection with a double slaying.

Finally.