Orange County murder sheds light on change to 'stand your ground' defense

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Prosecutors are trying to prove an accused killer had no reason to stand his ground the night they said he shot his girlfriend's ex-husband.

Clay Curtsinger testified he thought the man had a gun at the time, but the victim's neighbors said it seems the defendant was looking for a fight.

The case is shedding light on how a new law related to the "stand your ground" defense, in which prosecutors have to prove a shooter wasn’t scared for their life, plays out in court. It used to be designed so that defense attorneys would have to prove their client was in danger.

One day after the accused killer took the stand and claimed he thought the victim had a gun, neighbors testified against him.

Jerrami Johnson spotted accused murderer Clay Curtsinger's truck, and thought it was odd that he was parked just feet away from Jack Radke's van.

"He pulled up next to Jack's van, and I thought to myself, 'Oh, he must know him,' and as soon as I started walking back toward my garage, that's when I started hearing gunshots," Johnson said.

The medical examiner took the stand and explained why science isn't always certain when it comes to murder.

"Either he moved or the gun moved. I can't tell based on an autopsy alone," said Dr. Joshua Stephany.

"How can you get into somebody else's mind when you don't know what led to them thinking that they had to use deadly force? That's the big problem," said WFTV legal analyst Belvin Perry Jr.

A decision was supposed to be made Tuesday, but in the hearing's final hours of questioning, the prosecutor, Linda Drain-Burdick, seemed to be blindsided by testimony she said she didn't know about.

"If I would have had this information, I may have been able to cross-examine Mr. Curtsinger in a different fashion," she said.

Drain-Burdick accused the defense of violating the rules of discovery.

A defense expert was testifying based on an additional jail interview with Curtsinger that Drain-Burdick never knew happened, she said.

"I object, because I can't even respond to the proffer, because I have not been privy to any of this," Drain-Burdick said.

The expert was testifying about the potential meaning behind Curtsinger's professed memory loss surrounding the shooting.

"He remembered firing the initial shot," the expert said. "He did not know that he fired seven shots. I think he learned about that after he was placed in custody."

Using testimony from two of the victim's daughters, prosecutors had been trying to prove that Curtsinger did not fear for his life and had no reason to stand his ground.

"He said that he was in fear of his life, and he thought my father had a gun," said Selena Radke, one of the victim's daughters. "And I said, 'There is no way my father had a gun. He has never owned one.'"

Meanwhile, the defense had been trying to show how the victim's relationship with his ex-wife could have influenced Curtsinger that day.

"Your perception of your mother was that she was in fear of your father?" a defense attorney said.

"Yes," the victim's daughter said.

The defense insisted the violation wasn't intentional.

The prosecutor will have to wait to continue proving the state's case as the hearing has been continued to Jan. 22.

The defense's expert will have to share what he learned in the jail interview with prosecutors before then.

The judge will have to weigh Curtsinger’s word against that of the neighbors.

The law change prompted an appeal by a man who was convicted in another man’s killing. A separate case, involving a man who's been to prison, won an appeal and the man is due for another "stand your ground" hearing.

Bruce Fuller was charged with shooting and killing Furrukh Alam in 2012. He claims he shot Alam in self-defense during a fight, according to court documents.

The Florida Supreme Court ruled Fuller’s new trial is on hold until the justices review his case and decide whether he’s entitled to a new "stand your ground" hearing.

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