TAMPA, Fla., Aug. 3 (UPI) -- A Florida restaurant owner who used his car to run down and kill a man who had held him up with a BB gun has been acquitted of manslaughter.
Jurors Thursday deliberated for a little more than four hours before reaching their verdict, the Tampa Tribune reported.
Lawrence Storer was in his Ford Explorer outside his restaurant, Sumos Thai, in Tampa when the confrontation began. Shantavious Wilson stuck the gun through the window and demanded money.
Storer, who testified he thought the gun was real and that he was about to die, hid $2,000 in a wheel well. Wilson came with him into the restaurant and left with a bag containing $15.23 in change.
After Storer locked the door and dialed 911, he went back to the Explorer and pursued Wilson, running him over. Video from a building security camera showed him kneeling over the man's body waving his finger.
Prosecutors argued that Storer was not threatened when he ran Wilson down. But a defense lawyer argued that Florida law excuses people who are sufficiently provoked, and that Storer met the legal standard.
