CHARLOTTE COUNTY, Fla. — The man facing a murder charge in connection to the death of Manuel ‘Macho’ Torres has been granted a $250,000 bond.
David Lee Hull, 34, was arrested on April 23 and has pleaded not guilty to one count of second-degree murder. The charge stems from an altercation in front of Torres’s barber shop in Port Charlotte on March 20 that ended after Hull allegedly shot and killed Torres.
Hull was granted bond by Judge Lisa Porter during a pre-trial detention hearing on April 30. During the hearing, surveillance video of the shooting and the moments that led up to it was played privately.
Witnesses who had seen the video testified that it appears Torres was the primary aggressor in the altercation.
“What we have is a situation where Mr. Hull was violently attacked, he was picked up, he was strangled to the point of losing consciousness, feeling like his head was going to explode, and slammed into the concrete” said James Phillips, Hull’s attorney. “So, we have a very vicious attack and we have someone who did what he believed he had to do to make sure he lived past that day."
Phillips told Fox 4 that moving forward he would likely argue the shooting happened in an instance where Hull was defending himself.
"I think the facts will come out that will support a claim of self defense," said Phillips.
Torres’s family was in court for the hearing. Kenia Tejada, Torres’s widow, told Fox 4 she was disappointed Hull could be released from custody.
“He should’ve stayed in there,” said Tejada.
In addition to the $250,000 bond, Hull must wear a GPS monitor, and not be in possession of guns or a passport in order to be released.
