PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. — The man accused of shooting and killing 37-year-old Manuel ‘Macho’ Torres was in court for his first appearance on Thursday.
34-year-old David Lee Hull of Port Charlott was arrested on April 23 and faces one count of second-degree murder. Hull has pleaded not guilty and demanded a jury trial.
The charge stems from a shooting outside of UpperCutz barber shop in Port Charlotte on March 20 that left Torres dead. The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office said Hull was briefly detained that day and cooperated with law enforcement, but was not arrested at that time.
Following Hull’s hearing on Thursday, his attorney, James Phillips, told reporters it was likely he would argue the shooting was in self defense. It was a defense the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office says they looked into when determining whether or not to charge him.
Sheriff Bill Prummell said they had been looking at the state's "Stand Your Ground" law and if the circumstances here met that criteria, but Hull was ultimately arrested for murder.
"Mr. Hull has cooperated from the very beginning of the investigation,” said Phillips. “This case is going to probably center around a self defense claim, that's what we expect but we just have to see the evidence and do our own investigation."
The victim’s family attended the hearing. His widow Kenia Tejada told Fox 4 she was happy to see Hull in jail.
"I'm so happy, I’m pleased, I just want to cry right now I’m so happy,” said Tejada.
Hull is being held without bond until a pretrial detention hearing on April 30.
