Tampa man shoots a father, calls 'stand your ground' hotline

Tampa man shoots a father, calls 'stand your ground' hotline

Before Garcia, a 37-year-old father of three, had even been declared dead, the man who shot him was already on the phone with the U.S. Concealed Carry Association.

The association offers a 24-hour hotline, an attorney on retainer, bail money and a wallet-sized card instructing members on what to say after a shooting — starting at just $13 a month.

For centuries, the right to take a life to defend one's own life has been recognized across different legal systems and traditions.

The 2005 law, backed by the National Rifle Association, says a citizen "has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground" if they believe they must defend themselves from serious injury or death.

People have escaped prosecution for taking a life while involved in criminal activities, for firing on unarmed persons, even when they started the confrontation that led to the shooting.

There are subscription services that offer to advise gun owners before they have to make a life-or-death decision and provide immediate legal and financial support afterward.

"If you need to take the time to THINK about these decisions, there's a good chance you'll make a choice that will put you in jail . . . or worse," Tim Schmidt, founder and CEO of the U.S. Concealed Carry Association, wrote on the organization's website.

[...] Call Defense, a similar group affiliated with the NRA, has an "Ultimate" plan that offers unlimited money to cover a lawsuit and up to $50,000 in criminal defense protection — all for $39.95 per month.

Kevin Michalowski, executive editor of Concealed Carry magazine, said his group provides a valuable service: educating and preparing gun owners to legally defend themselves and to deal with the consequences afterward.

The association offers training videos, a magazine, a database of self-defense articles; 24-hour, seven-day-a-week access to a "critical response team" and "legal triage" lawyer; a "network" of defense attorneys; insurance to cover bail and legal representation; psychological counseling; coverage for family members; and a "bulletproof" money-back guarantee.

[...] Call Defense declined to release its membership numbers, but co-founder Sean Maloney estimated around 500,000 people across the country belong to such organizations.

Stetson University law professor Charles Rose fears such groups could actually inflame armed confrontations: giving gun owners legal advice beforehand and financial reassurance afterward could make them "more comfortable" pulling out a firearm.

Rose was also troubled by the instructions those groups offer to give only basic information to 911 operators.

Describe to them what you look like and what you're wearing," read a U.S. Concealed Carry booklet, "but apart from that, simply repeat that you were in fear for your life and that someone has been shot.

It tells police the member will not consent to any searches or speak until they have talked to an attorney.

[...] it says: "As a lawfully armed citizen, I ask for the same courtesy that you would show a fellow officer who was involved in a similar situation."

To Rose, that sounds like coaching gun owners to hamper the investigation.

While the American Bar Association has taken a stance against "stand your ground" laws, it hasn't yet looked into the growing number of self-defense insurance groups doling out legal advice, said the chair of the Bar's "stand your ground" task force, Leigh-Ann Buchanan.

There are so many variables in the legal system, he said, that there's "no equation someone could get their hands on" that would guarantee they would not be charged or put on trial after taking a life.

"Thinking about putting together criminal activity with some bit of knowledge you got out of one of these sites seems like a fool's enterprise," he said.

"What they're doing is educating people on the precise boundaries that operate with regard to self-defense," he said.

Garcia pulled his blue Honda Crosstour onto his ex-wife's front lawn on Dunhill Drive in Carrollwood sometime before 2 a.m. He and Ayala had been married for 15 years and had two kids.

Court records and deputies' interviews with witnesses detail the moments leading up to Garcia's death.

Nick Julian IV got upset, according to a deputy's report, retrieved his .45-caliber Kimber Pro Carry II semi-automatic pistol and put it on the couch.

Julian returned to his parents' home, grabbed his gun, the sheriff's report said, and went back outside one last time.

The teen told investigators that he heard bits of the argument, such as his neighbor saying "well, step up then" and "let's go."

Hours after Garcia died, his ex-wife and children met with Hillsborough sheriff's detectives.

"The evidence is insufficient to rebut Nick Julian IV's claim that his use of deadly force against Mr. Garcia was an act of self-defense," read a letter from the office of Hillsborough County State Attorney Mark Ober.

The deputy's report said Julian pulled out his .45-caliber Kimber Pro Carry II pistol — the serial number matched the gun deputies said killed Garcia — and pointed it at three men, including Luis Rodriguez.

Another witness, John Torres, wrote the same phrases in his statement to deputies, adding Julian "came to the street and pointed a gun out of his pants at me."

Later, Cox said, when prosecutors tried to subpoena the three victims, it was Picart who accepted subpoenas for himself and Rodriguez, but refused the summons for Torres.

Left without any witnesses, the State Attorney's Office dropped the charges against Julian.

[...] six months ago, she said, she started to see Julian's pick-up truck at his parents' home again.

Ayala took her son to the driver's license office to get his permit.