ST. AUGUSTINE, Florida — A fatal shooting outside a popular bar in downtown St. Augustine a year and a half ago rocked rocked the usually quiet tourist area.
Then that shooting became a rare 'Stand Your Ground' case.
And in an even rarer twist, the judge agreed Friday that the shooter had the right to pull the trigger.
Monday, defense attorney Patrick Canan told First Coast News, "It’s not lost on me that someone lost their life."
Canan and his team represented Luis Casado in a hearing last November in which a judge had to determine if Casado had the right to fire a gun in May of 2021.
That’s when Casado and Adam Amoia were outside Dos Gatos bar on Hypolita Street in downtown St. Augustine. They did not know each other, but Casado struck up a conversation with people Amoia was with.
According to the surveillance footage, Amoia and another man started hitting Casado. It does not appear that Casado struck back.
One of the blows knocked Casado’s glasses off his face and he started to step backwards in a "submissive mode," as described by the judge's written decision.
The video shows Casado was eventually backed- up against the exterior wall, and Amoia continued to hit him.
That’s when Casado pulled out his gun, fired it, and Amoia died.
Reflecting on the case, Canan told First Coast News, "I think it was the science combined with the video is what was the difference in this case."
He and his team used video from two different locations: one from Dos Gators and one from a bagel shop across the street.
"We were able to merge those with use of experts using science," Canan explained. "And we were able to break the video down into milliseconds and milimeters. We learned things like the first (gun)shot to the last shot was 1.6 seconds as opposed to some of the testimony having it at 25 -30 seconds."
And he said the short duration of gun fire is important.
"Because if someone starts shooting and the threat is over, and is shooting for 25 seconds at somebody, there’s a great argument that they were not longer in fear," Canan said. "We had a neuropsychologist testify that the brain can’t tell the finger to stop shooting in 1.6 seconds. So that’s why it’s important."
The judge ruled Casado – who pulled the trigger – had a right to do so under Florida’s stand your ground rule. That rule has to meet certain stipulations.
Canan noted those requirements for a Stand Your Ground defense in Florida include, "If there is fear of great bodily harm or death.... and you were in a place you had a right to be.... and you weren’t committing a crime at the time it happened."
He also said, "I know it’s not easy for any judge in the state to grant a Stand Your Ground motion, especially if someone has died."
Canan also said that "most Stand Your Ground motions are denied."
However, this is one of those rare cases in which the judge ruled that the pieces meets Stand Your Ground” definition in Florida.
So this means Casado is immune from criminal charges in this case such as manslaughter.
Canan said, "We live in a gun state, and the judge simply followed the law."
First Coast News reached out to Amoia’s family for comment.
One relative said, “We have no justice. We have no comment.”
An uncle of Amoia's said the family needs to meet and go over the ruling as a together.