Deadly dog park shooting: It’s been nearly 1 month and no charges have been filed
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Questions from friends of Walt Lay continue to loom after he was shot and killed at a dog park in the Egypt Lake-Leto area on Feb. 1.
People who know Lay said he had an ongoing argument with the shooter. The shooter has not been charged with a crime.
“I think the tricky part is how do you go from being frenemies to now I’m going to kill you. You know, I need to I feel the need to shoot you. That’s going to be the tricky part for law enforcement and for the defense,” said criminal defense attorney Bryant Camareno, who is not involved with the case.
Detectives and the state attorney’s office are investigating whether the shooting was a crime or in self-defense. Camareno said Florida’s “stand your ground” law gets tricky.
“Staying your ground is just a defense for a jury to consider. So, the stand your ground issue is whether the judge believes that deadly force is justifiable and self-defense is what the jury believes you needed to defend yourself,” Camareno added.
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Camareno said prosecuting self-defense cases can be difficult.
“In Florida, it’s easier to prove stand your ground. The issue is whether the judge believes that you know that your actions warranted shooting someone or using deadly force,” Camareno said.
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