Florida man gunned down because he had a hoodie and sagging pants
Wearing a hoodie in Florida can still get you killed.
On Thursday, Jan. 16, 2014 , 21-year-old Ricardo Sanes was allegedly shot to death by Claudius Smith after Sanes was reportedly looking suspicious because he was wearing a hoodie and sagging pants. The shooter then returned to his home and told his girlfriend that Sanes tried to rob him and he shot him because he felt threatened. Per a confession to the Orlando police, Smith felt threatened and feared for his life “because his pants were falling down and his hands were in his hoodie pockets.”
Sanes, according to witness accounts, did not seem to be bothering anyone or stealing anything but Smith thought he was a burglar. Based on this suspicion, Smith followed Sanes, jumping a fence and gunning him down in a neighboring apartment complex. Charged with second-degree murder, Smith may try to invoke “Stand Your Ground” as a defense. Even though the police do not believe Stand Your Ground applies in this incident, it’s up to a judge to decide. In a prior unrelated incident, a judge granted Stand Your Ground to a man who went to his car to get a gun before killing a person.
Smith’s girlfriend, Angela Kemraj, stated that she saw Sanes on her home surveillance camera and told Smith. She stated that she saw Sanes leaving the yard with nothing in his hands as he climbed over the fence to the neighboring apartment complex. She then told Smith, who ran out of the house, jumped the fence and followed Sanes. Kemraj heard gunshots two minutes later and Smith returned. He said that Sanes tried to rob him but said nothing of shooting the unarmed man. When police investigated the shooting, Smith denied all knowledge of the shooting but later confessed under questioning. He then claimed self-defense to the police because he was in fear for his life.
Once again in Florida the life of a black man can be taken based on how he dresses and a nighttime encounter.
