'Stand your ground' hearing begins in Brevard

Defense attorneys portrayed a neighborhood feud Monday that went too far, escalating into vulgarities and obscenities regarding their client's daughter and then ultimately violence when William Woodward felt threatened.

During the first day of Woodward's hearing to be able to use the "stand your ground" defense attorneys Greg Eisenmenger and Robert Berry painstakingly went over several hours of video surveillance from the Sept. 2012 night when Woodward fired 31 times killing two and wounding another of his neighbors.

Woodward, 46, faces two charges of first-degree premeditated murder with a firearm and one charge of attempted first-degree murder for killing Gary Hembree and Roger Picior and wounding Bruce Tim" Blake.

The six-week feud started when Woodward accused Hembree's daughter of taking some packages from his front porch. What followed were daily arguments, court hearings and calls to the police. But one day that August, things got especially ugly when Woodward's neighbors could be heard on surveillance camera yelling sexual vulgarities about Woodward's 12-year-old daughter.

"I was telling them to shut up," Blake testified, saying they had crossed the line. But Woodward's lawyers said it was Blake himself who started the instigating the night of the shootings by walking to the edge of Woodward's property and yelling obscenities.

Hembree and Picior soon joined in. "I guess I was (trying to piss him off)," Blake said.

For several hours on the night of the shooting, Woodward's neighbors shined a floodlight onto his property, blasted loud music and yelled taunts, insults and curses at his home.

At one point during the video, Woodward can be seen leaving his house and stealthily watching his neighbors.

The neighbors appear to say things like: "get a bat," and "come on let's go." A woman's voice follows saying "Oh my God, they're doing it," moments before gunshots can be heard on the video. Two initial shots are followed by a barrage of bullets. There is quiet while Woodward changes his cartridge and then another loud barrage of bullets.

When police arrive, you can hear Woodward yell: "I got 'em all."

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Blake testified earlier that he used to be close friends with Woodward and that Woodward had lent him money, paid Blake's rent on one occasion and bought his children shoes. He also admitted that a mace type of weapon he referred to as his "shark killer" was hanging in his carport the night of the shooting that left two others dead.

When Blake testified that Woodward would engage in similar taunting activity, Eisenmenger told him he went over weeks of video and never saw any evidence of such activity.

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"Have you ever seen a video of him doing that?" he asked Blake.

"I have the videos here in my brain," Blake responded.

Prosecutor Gary Beatty stressed that none of the shooting victims were armed and even though he described the behavior of the victims as disgusting, he said it gave the defendant no right to leave his property and go and kill them.

"Why didn't he just call the police?" Beatty asked. "Does the 'stand your ground' defense extend to this? If so, where does it extend?" Beatty asked.

That will be up to Circuit Judge James Earp to decide. The hearing is expected to last for the rest of the week.

Contact Torres at 321-242-3684 or at jtorres@floridatoday.com. Don't forget to follow him on Twitter @johnalbertorres or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/FTjohntorres.