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Luis Casado stands accused of manslaughter in the shooting death of Adam Amoia. His attorney hopes to prove he was justified because his safety was threatened.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A hearing beginning Monday in St. Johns County will determine if a St. Augustine man will be granted immunity from prosecution in the shooting death of Adam Amoia. Luis Casado stands accused in the crime — his attorney argues he would have been justified in shooting Amoia because his safety was threatened, calling it a “classic stand your ground case.”
Casado’s attorney Patrick Canan told First Coast News last year that Casado was exercising his constitutional right to defend himself wihen he shot Amoia, who was physically attacking him at the time.
According to court records, Amoia approached Casado outside of Dos Gatos Bar in downtown St. Augustine in May 2021.
The motion filed by Casado’s attorneys say that Amoia told Casado to leave, and when Casado did not immediately respond to this “bizarre” request, Amoia attacked him.
Casado was “not threatening in any way and he did nothing to incite rudeness or violence,” the filing says.
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Casado pulled the gun on Amoia only after being hit more than six times, according to his attorney, and “was afraid for his life.”
The motion says he used his firearm to “prevent serious bodily injury or even death.”
The filing references a Florida statute that says a person is immune from criminal prosecution if their actions were justified by the law. “A person is justified in using or threatening to use deadly force if he or she reasonably believes that using or threatening to use such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself or another or to present the imminent commission of a forcible felony.”
The state has filed a motion to prevent Casado’s attorneys from introducing information about Amoia’s background to influence the case.
