What happened at a Tampa intersection? Manslaughter or self-defense?

UPDATE: Hillsborough court records show that a judge dismissed the manslaughter charge against Curtis James on Jan. 25, 2023, after finding that James acted in self-defense.The last phone call Austin Domingues had with his stepfather was at 6:30 p.m. on June 10. It was only about 30 seconds.Domingues had called to ask Freddy Hernandez when he would be home. Domingues needed help with the car he had just bought. Whenever he’d hit 40 mph, the car would shake.“It’s definitely the top hats on the shocks,” Hernandez said in Spanish.Hernandez was a mechanic at Creekside Nursery. He worked on anything with an engine most of his adult life after arriving in the United States from Cuba in the mid-1990s. When he would leave home in the morning, his hands would be clean. When he made it home, they’d be black with grease.“Okay, I’m going to see if I can—” Domingues began.“No, we’ll fix it this weekend,” Hernandez said.Together.The last words Domingues said to Hernandez were: “I love you very much.”About two hours later, a little after 8:30 p.m., Hernandez was driving home. He had come back from a friend’s house, still driving his work truck, according to Domingues.Video surveillance taken from the intersection of West Waters Avenue and East Anderson Road in Tampa shows Curtis James, 44, pulling up to the red light and Hernandez’s truck directly behind it. The video shows Hernandez opening his door and exiting. He takes a few steps, then falls to the ground, according to an arrest report from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s office.At about 8:40 p.m., the sheriff’s office dispatched deputies to that location after reports of shots fired. Deputies arrived to find Hernandez, 52, dead with multiple gunshot wounds.James had stayed on the scene, sitting in his car while Hernandez’s body lay in the westbound lanes of Waters.At about 11 p.m., investigators recorded a video interview with James.James said he had stopped at a red light at the intersection and Hernandez’s car was directly behind his, according to the interview.James said he saw through his rear-view mirror as Hernandez quickly exited his truck. James armed himself with his Glock 30, a .45 caliber handgun, which he kept in his center console.He racked the slide of the Glock, which refers to the manual process of loading a semiautomatic pistol.When Hernandez walked toward the driver’s side of James’ vehicle, he did not see a weapon in Hernandez’s hands, he told investigators.However, James told deputies he believed Hernandez was reaching for something on his right side -- a gun, he thought.James pointed his gun outside of the driver’s side front window and fired several shots at Hernandez.James said Hernandez fell to the ground and tried to get back up. James fired several more shots at Hernandez, according to the interview.This time, Hernandez did not get back up.Deputies obtained a search warrant for James’ vehicle. They found a loaded Glock 30 .45 caliber handgun inside the center console. An autopsy report later confirmed Hernandez’s cause of death was gunshot wounds to his torso and lower extremities.James claimed self-defense.Detectives presented the case to the State Attorney’s Office and prosecutors charged James with first-degree manslaughter with a weapon, according to a spokesperson from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s office.James posted $15,000 bail and is currently out of jail. Contacted for this story, he directed the Tampa Bay Times to his lawyer, Timothy Taylor.Taylor said in a written statement that James is a veteran of the U.S. Army and “was a victim of a road rage incident.”He was forced to defend himself, Taylor said, after a man aggressively approached him. He also said that James had a concealed weapons permit. James also called 911 and was cooperative with deputies, Taylor said.“We look forward to all the facts coming to light and an ultimate acquittal,” Taylor said.Taylor would not comment on the specific details of the case or say what procedural steps the case would take in the future.In 2017, Florida amended its “stand your ground” law, making it so the burden of proof is on the prosecutors, not the defense. If James’ lawyer were to push for a stand your ground hearing, or an immunity hearing, the prosecution would have to prove Hernandez did not pose a serious threat of injury or bodily harm. Previously, the burden of proof would have been on James.If a judge were to side with the prosecution, the case would move on to trial. If the judge were to side with James, the case would be dismissed.James’ next court hearing is scheduled for Monday.As the case progresses, Hernandez’s family is mourning and hoping to see justice.Loly Hernandez, 33, his sister, said she could always turn to and lean on her brother.“I know family will say this when somebody dies, and for everybody their family is special,” Loly Hernandez said. “But I know he’s with God right now to be honest, because he was better than me.”Both Loly Hernandez and Domingues described Freddy Hernandez as generous and hard working. Domingues said he would do many jobs for people he’d met over the years, often for free.In 2004, Hernandez replaced a motor in a John Deere forklift, a “headache of task,” Domingues said. The man didn’t have enough money to pay Hernandez, so he offered his 1999 Mustang GT. His love of cars quickly persuaded him to accept.While working with his stepfather, Domingues, 24, had spent countless hours in a car with him. He described him as a careful driver, especially in his work truck. He wouldn’t go over 65 mph, even on the highway, because it felt unsafe.There’s no clear explanation why Hernandez got out of his truck the night of the shooting. Loly Hernandez said it was rare for her brother to get angry.As for a weapon, Domingues says Hernandez was a “God fearing man.” It wasn’t in his nature to handle weapons.Hernandez was a Jehovah’s Witness, along with his wife, Maria Calvis. He was deeply devoted to his religious community. More than 100 people attended Hernandez’s funeral.“He was the person I looked up to in life,” Domingues said.Now, Domingues’ family is having a difficult time. Domingues’ son, who is 3, was close with his grandfather, often calling Hernandez and Domingues both “dadda.”It’s like he’s gone back a year, Domingues said. He’s constantly throwing tantrums now. It’s hardest near the end of the day, when Hernandez used to come home from work.Domingues suspects that his son knows something happened to his grandfather. In the days after he died, his mother would try to hold in her tears, but often she would just cry. Sometimes in front of her grandson.Domingues is unsure of what’s next. For his entire life, he always believed his mother would be provided for. Now, he’s not sure what he’s going to do.“I could have sworn my mom was set for the rest of her life,” Domingues said. “She was going to die happy.”

What happened at a Tampa intersection? Manslaughter or self-defense?

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