The family of a 17-year-old Florida teen who was fatally shot in the back last week has sought legal counsel from Mark O’Mara, the attorney who represented George Zimmerman in the Trayvon Martin trial.
According to CNN, the homeowner who killed Adrein Green is maintaining that he exercised his right to stand his ground after he says, Green attempted to burglarize his car in the same Florida town where Trayvon Martin was murdered eight years prior. O’Mara says the statute doesn’t apply.
Details of the case shared with CNN provide evidence that Green tried to break into one of the homeowner’s vehicles. It appears that the homeowner witnessed it happening and called 911, claiming he feared for his wife and baby who were also at home.
But while the undisclosed homeowner was on the phone with a 911, he fired two shots at Green, which were picked up on the audio of the 911 call. Officers responded to the scene but were unable to resuscitate Green after performing CPR. Green later died at the hospital.
Sanford Police did not arrest the homeowner, because they say he was justified in using deadly force after Green allegedly tried to break into his vehicle. In the state of Florida, by law, a person “may defend one’s self or others against threats or perceived threats, even to the point of applying lethal force, regardless of whether safely retreating from the situation might have been possible.”
But O’Mara says the homeowner’s call to 911 paints a different picture. He contends that the weapon was fired to scare Green from the property. “They weren’t shooting in fear of personal safety,” O’Mara told CNN. “In this case, it’s pretty clear, in my opinion, you aren’t allowed to shoot someone because they are breaking into your car.”
This week family and friends of Adrein Green protested Sanford Police’s decision to not arrest the homeowner. The teen’s mother Andrea Smith-Green told Click Orlando she just wants justice for her son.