Defense Lawyers Use "Stand Your Ground" In Miami Beach Attack On Gay Couple
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - Rene Chalarca and Dimitry Logunov, who claim they were victims of a hate crime, appeared in court on Thursday.
Sitting just feet away from them were the four men accused of leaving them bruised and bloodied four years ago after the annual Miami Beach Gay Pride Parade.
Lawyers for the accused attackers say their clients are innocent, despite surveillance video which clearly shows the brutal beachside attack.
Dennis Gonzalez, an attorney for Luis Alonso Piovet, one of the four defendants, told CBS 4 News, "There's no hate crime here and I think our clients were acting in self-defense, and I think the evidence is going to show that."
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The defense attorneys argue clients assaulted Chalaraca and Logunov in self-defense after being bumped. They've now asked the judge to dismiss the case based on the "Stand Your Ground" law.
David Dunet, a lawyer Juan Lopez, another accused attacker, said, "We have a stand your ground motion. We've been arguing and all the testimony and evidence has been presented and tomorrow we're going to make our closing arguments to the judge."
A tough argument to make since Chalaraca and Logunov got pummeled after allegedly just bumping into one of the aggressors. Seemingly, a mismatch of force.
Attorney and legal expert David Weinstein said, "If someone bumps into you, and you're defending yourself, that gives you the right to bump them back to meet the force they used against you with similar force."
Weinstein, who is not a part of this case and just offering his legal perspective, told CBS4 News the primary burden is on the defense to show they're entitled to use force with equal force.
"Anytime that a defendant puts forth a stand your ground argument they're telling the court that they're immune from prosecution because they were entitled to defend themselves," continued Weinstein.
The ultimate arbiter will be the judge who will use videotape evidence to decide if this case could be dismissed based on a "Stand Your Ground" defense. It's a tactic, that if it fails, could mean serious time for the accused.
"If at end trial these defendants are not only convicted of battery but of a hate crime battery, they're going to be subjected to a maximum statutory penalty of 30 years because it was a hate crime," concluded Weinstein.
A decision on a motion to dismiss the trial based on "Stand Your Ground" could come as soon as Friday.
