Sanford Police: Shooting of school employee possible case of 'stand your ground'

Dave Puglisi - A Seminole County Public Schools (SCPS) employee is in critical condition after a shooting this morning at a busy RaceTrac gas station. Sanford police say the shooting appears to be in self-defense. 

"Imagine how busy that RaceTrac was, filled with a number of citizens coming on the way to work getting gas that kind of thing," said Bianca Gillett of Sanford Police. 

The RaceTrac gas station at the intersection of State Road 415 and State Road  46 is where Maurice Holloway Jr., 32, stopped to gas up a box truck while making deliveries for SCPS. Inside the convenience store is where he happened to see another man with which he has a history, police said.

"There is a long-standing history of some kind," said Gillet. "Tumultuous history between those two parties and even additional family members."

Sanford Police said that witnesses pointed to Holloway as the aggressor of an argument between the two that grew heated. They told police that the 6 foot, 8 inches tall Holloway was making threats towards the other man that had those inside the RaceTrac concerned. 

"Holloway exits the RaceTrac and returns multiple times continuing the argument. The other party at that point in time decides to leave the race track and expressed possible concern for the other people around him," said Gillett. 

Witness said that when the man stepped outside, Holloway came up to him again. That is when witnesses said the man fired multiple shots into Holloway’s torso right in front of the store. Holloway was rushed to a hospital in critical condition.

Sanford Police believe the accounts from multiple witnesses and the man involved have them believing the action was possibly in self-defense. 

"Your words can be very powerful even if you didn’t physically put your hands on somebody you can escalate situations because that’s exactly what happened today," said Gillet. 

Sanford Police don’t expect to press charges in the case as it appears as it could be a "stand your ground" case. Ultimately the state attorney will make that decision.

"The more other individuals that can help paint that picture in collaboration with what that person who is trying to use their authority understand your ground is facing, the more likely it is it’s going to be convincing," said Criminal Defense Attorney Whitey Boan. 

Boan has been practicing defense law for over 20 years. She believes that in a situation like this one, the numerous witness statements that Sanford Police say they obtained will go a long way in deciding if a reasonable person would feel threatened if presented the same situation. That idea is the premise behind the stand your ground law that protects one who acts in self-defense. 

"Words combined with the eminent ability to act upon them, Those words and those words constituting the equivalent of threats could be enough to trigger protection under the stand your ground law," said Boan. 

Although the long history between the two men could complicate things depending on just what that history is. 

"If I find out there’s a long-standing feud between these individuals that could invent a motive beyond just simply the facts and circumstances that you were faced with," said Boan.  

Whitney made it clear that each stand your ground cases is different based on a number of factors. She said it could be weeks or even months before all the evidence in a case like this is evaluated before deciding if charges should be filed. 

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