Stand your ground? No charges for shooter in S.R. 60 'road rage' killing near Vero Beach

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Prosecutors will not charge the man who fired 16 shots from his car in November, killing a driver on State Road 60, despite the fact the victim wasn't armed, according to records obtained by TCPalm.

"Stand your ground (law) eliminated a need to retreat when you’re in a place other than your home," Assistant State Attorney Steve Gosnell said about the decision not to file charges, made this week after a six-month investigation.

"There is simply insufficient evidence to overcome the claim of self-defense."

More: 911 calls describe panic at scene of 'road rage' shooting on State Road 60

Dennis Wayne Hicks, 38, of Fort Pierce, was shot dead Nov. 16 at the busy intersection in front of Walmart where S.R. 60 meets 53rd Avenue.

Timothy Daniel Sartori, a 29-year-old sky dive instructor from Sebastian, was driving alongside Hicks about 7 p.m. when he said Hicks threatened him and reached for something out of sight.

It was dark, and Sartori, a National Guardsman diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after his service in Iraq, emptied a 9 mm semi-automatic Glock he was carrying on his lap.

More: The reason Indian River 'road rage' probe is taking so long | Laurence Reisman

"He reached for a gun … I thought I saw it. I didn't hesitate," Sartori told deputies that night, records showed.

Sartori immediately pulled over and called 911 after the shooting, claiming self-defense.

Hicks was dead before first responders arrived, alone in his car, with no weapon inside.

"Mr. Sartori … could have avoided this tragic encounter had he made an effort to retreat with his vehicle," Gosnell said Monday in a memo to State Attorney Bruce Colton.

"However … in Florida, the present state of self-defense law does not require him to do so. It is not for this prosecutor to debate the policy, but to enforce the laws as written."

After a thorough investigation, including testimony from eight eyewitnesses, Gosnell considered charging Sartori with manslaughter — as the Sheriff's Office recommended — or even culpable negligence or discharging a firearm in public.

More: 2 shootings in St. Lucie, Martin counties may have 'stand your ground' aspects

He ultimately determined a case would not stand up to a jury's scrutiny. Here's why:

There were no witnesses who could refute Sartori's version of events. Other drivers did not hear the altercation Sartori said preceded the shooting.

Physical evidence backed up Sartori’s version of events. Hicks' car was in park as if he was prepared for a confrontation, plus the position of his body indicated he had his hand raised and body turned in Sartori's direction.

Sartori didn’t flee, which suggested he didn't have a guilty conscience.

The shooting

Hicks and Sartori didn't know each other before their cars wound up side-by-side driving east on S.R. 60, soon to enter Vero Beach.

Hicks had just left Target, at 58th Avenue and S.R. 60, where he bought Sudafed. Sartori and his girlfriend were headed to dinner at Sonny's BBQ, 5001 S.R. 60, within sight of the shooting.

More: Stand Your Ground: It's up to you to know your rights if threatened or attacked

Sartori said Hicks had been driving erratically and honking since both vehicles turned left onto S.R. 60 from 58th Avenue. Sartori's girlfriend told investigators Hicks looked "very mad," according to Gosnell's memo.

Sartori told detectives he suspected Hicks was "high on drugs," which "freaked out" Sartori even more, the memo said.

A toxicology report showed Hicks had a muscle relaxer and methadone, a painkiller used to treat narcotic addiction, in his system at his death.

More: Gregory Hill $4 verdict leaves community angry | Anthony Westbury

After a tense exchange, Sartori said Hicks told him to get out and fight him.

"Shut the (expletive) up or I'll put a bullet in your (expletive)," he said Hicks shouted.

Hicks reached down into his backseat, then raised his arm, Sartori and his girlfriend told investigators.

"I thought for like a second about, like, going into the parking lot there, but I didn't want to take me eyes off of him and like get shot in the back," Sartori said in an interview at the Sheriff's Office.

More: Christard Hicks, allegedly shot by Jamal Riggins in drive-by, 'was never the target,' records say

Sartori, who has a concealed carry permit, had his pistol on his lap. He keeps it there when he drives because the pistol digs into his back if holstered.

He gripped the gun with both hands and fired 16 times. Seven shots hit Hicks' car. Four hit Hicks, in his chest and back of the head.

A car driving in the opposite direction was hit with four shots, although neither the driver nor his 3-year-old son were injured.

More: Fort Pierce police asking for public's help after drive-by shooting

Most of the eyewitness didn't notice anything until the shots rang out. They had their radios on or their windows up, or they were talking on cellphones. One woman in the car behind Hicks looked up at the sound and said Sartori looked "determined" rather than fearful, according to the memo.

Detectives asked Sartori why he emptied his weapon.

"I didn't know if I was hitting him at all because he was still, like, moving around … I just wanted to make sure he wasn't moving any more," he said.

But the question wasn't important to prosecutors.

“If you’re going to shoot once or 10 times, the amount of self-defense is the same,” Gosnell said. “It doesn’t change the equation.”

More: 2 charged with murder at Motel 6 in Indian River County to face grand jury

'Stand your ground'

Since the "stand your ground" law was implemented in 2005, cases involving the defense generally come up a couple times a year on the Treasure Coast, Gosnell said.

“It happens and then we have to sort through it,” he said. “This is one of the most involved ones I have worked on.”

The law provides those who have used deadly force against attackers rather than retreating with immunity from arrest, detention, charges and prosecution.

“If it’s not going to kill you to do so, you’d have a duty to get out of the way first. That’s how the law used to work," Gosnell explained. "Mr. Sartori didn’t have the obligation to retreat."

More: Gil Smart: Making it easier to 'Stand Your Ground'

The burden of proof in "stand your ground" cases lies with prosecutors.

Juries are instructed the use of deadly force is justifiable if the defendant reasonably believed it was necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself or another.

The danger does not have to be real — it just must have appeared real enough that deadly force would strike a reasonable person as the only option.

Crime scene investigators determine Hicks would have to have been turned toward Sartori with his right arm raised at the time of the shooting.

More: Investigation continues into North River Shores shooting over parking dispute

This, combined with the fact that Hicks’ car was in park and he was not wearing a seat belt, "tends to corroborate Mr. Sartori’s claim that before the shooting Mr. Hicks was acting as if he was going to get out of his car and physically confront Mr. Sartori," according to Gosnell's memo.

The physical evidence, plus lack of witness testimony, plus Sartori's PTSD from his years in combat, could have easily convinced a jury Sartori believed he was reasonably in fear for his and his girlfriend's lives, prosecutors ultimately decided.