Son accused of manslaughter tells judge his dad was armed during tragic fight that killed his mom

The Margate man accused of accidentally shooting his mother to death during a physical fight with his father in late 2019 told a Broward judge Friday that he was afraid if he did not pull a gun, his father would.

Alexander DelToro Jr., 32, testified during a “stand your ground” self-defense hearing to tell Broward Circuit Judge Edward Merrigan that he feared for his life as he struggled with his dad after a birthday celebration on Dec. 14, 2019.

Merrigan sided with prosecutors at the end of the two-day hearing, rejecting the defendant’s self-defense claim and allowing the case to head to a jury. DelToro can raise self-defense at trial, where it will be up to the jury to decide whether there is reasonable doubt of his guilt.

But the jury would have to hear that account from him directly because it has not been part of the case record to date. Prosecutors would be allowed to use his Friday testimony if DelToro takes the stand at trial.

“He raised his fist at me like he was going to punch me,” DelToro said of his father and namesake, who was not in court Friday. “He had me pushed against a wall.”

And DelToro said he knew his father was armed.

“I saw his hand go into his pocket. I pretty much knew what he was going for,” DelToro said.

It was an account he had not given before. When DelToro was questioned on the night he shot his mother, Cindy Gale DelToro, he mentioned nothing of his father being armed. On Friday he said his father hid his own gun after the shooting. Police never found it.

“Have you ever struck your father in your life?” defense lawyer Ron L. Baum asked DelToro.

“No,” the defendant answered.

“What would happen if you did?”

“I wouldn’t be here.”

DelToro was hoping Merrigan would dismiss the case under the state’s “stand your ground” law, which allows the use of deadly force in cases where the shooter’s life might be in danger. Invoking the law is unusual in a case where someone other than the intended target is killed.

Assistant Broward State Attorney Tom Hand argued there was no evidence the elder DelToro was armed during the confrontation. The younger DelToro was unjustified in pulling out his own weapon, Hand said, and the consequence was manslaughter.

DelToro faces a likely sentence of 10 years in prison if convicted, Hand told Merrigan at the start of the two-day hearing Thursday.

Rafael Olmeda can be reached at rolmeda@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4457.