A Florida man who shot and killed his ex-girlfriend's brother was granted immunity under the state's "Stand Your Ground" law on Monday.
Jarelle Glenn, 26, had been charged with second-degree murder in the death of Tommy Johnson II. But according to the Fort Meyers, Fla. News-Press, a judge ruled that he acted "reasonably" when he defended himself against Johnson and more than a half-dozen other men on March 25, 2011.
Glenn's attorney, Tracey Redd, told CBS News' Crimesider that the night before the shooting, Glenn and his ex-girlfriend had gotten into a heated argument where neither touched each other but both brandished weapons - he a bat, she a screwdriver - in the apartment they shared. Redd says the girlfriend left and called her brother, Johnson, from a cousin's house saying she was frightened of Glenn.
The next day, says Redd, Johnson began sending threatening text messages to Glenn's phone, and with the help of his sister (who apparently shared a wireless plan with Glenn), used the GPS on Glenn's phone to track him to the couple's apartment, where Glenn had gone to retrieve his belongings in apparent anticipation of a break-up.
According to Redd, Johnson brought eight men with him to the apartment, and Glenn feared for his life and the lives of the two friends with him when he heard the pop of a car trunk and saw Johnson grabbing his waistband "as if he had a weapon."
Johnson, it turns out, did not have a weapon on him. Redd says Glenn fired at least four bullets, killing Johnson.
The News-Press reports that in announcing his decision, Judge Frank Porter said the fact that Johnson was unarmed "does not negate the impression" that he or his friends possessed a weapon. Thus, Porter ruled that Glenn "proved by a preponderance of evidence that he acted reasonably" in shooting Johnson.
