The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles is using a recent incident in Southwest Florida to illustrate the limits of so-called "stand your ground" defenses.
"If you ever encounter road rage, avoid confrontation, and do not engage," FLHSMV advises.
Per a release from the department Friday, Francisco Gonzalez, 44, of Lehigh Acres, allegedly shot at another motorist's car after a fit of road rage.
"In early May, the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) responded to a call from a black Toyota Tundra driver (victim) with a U-Haul trailer. The driver reported being shot at by someone inside a black Infiniti QX80, following a road rage incident. At approximately 5 p.m. on May 5, 2024, the driver of the Tundra, was driving south on Alligator Alley (Interstate 75), when the black Infiniti QX80 cut him off. A back-and-forth road rage incident ensued, which led to gunshots being fired from the Infiniti."
The Infiniti allegedly fled the scene, but Gonzalez could not flee the long arm of the law quite so easily.
"On May 14, 2024, Investigators with FHP's Bureau of Criminal Investigations, and Intelligence (BCII) discovered the suspect vehicle was being serviced at a local dealership. Troopers responded to the dealership to speak with the suspect driver," the department continues. "Gonzalez advised he felt the driver of the Tundra almost killed him and his family by driving in his lane. Gonzalez advised he did what he did to defend his wife and stepson, who were also in the vehicle at the time."
Though the gunman says he "stood his ground," investigators were not convinced. The alleged gunman faces nine felony counts: three for discharging a firearm from a vehicle; three for "shooting or throwing a missile" into a vehicle; and three for aggravated assault with felonious intentions.
Per Florida Statute, "stand your ground" has limited applications which do not include disputes like this one on interstate highways.
The language allows "force, except deadly force, against another when and to the extent that the person reasonably believes that such conduct is necessary to defend himself or herself or another against the other's imminent use of unlawful force."
It also permits "deadly force if he or she reasonably believes that using or threatening to use such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the imminent commission of a forcible felony."
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