DADE CITY, Fla. -- A Dade City judge set the trial date of a retired Tampa police captain accused of fatally shooting a man in a Pasco theater four years ago for February of next year.
- Curtis Reeves in court today
- Trial date may be set for Reeves, suspect in theater shooting
- Chad Oulson, 43, shot and killed in Wesley Chapel theater in Jan. 2014
Curtis Reeves, 75, is facing second-degree murder charges in the Jan. 13, 2014, shooting death of Chad Oulson, 43. The shooting occurred inside Cobb Theatre in Wesley Chapel after an argument about Oulson using his cell phone during the movie previews.
Judge Susan Barthle didn't give either side what they wanted in this case during a hearing Tuesday. Prosecutor Glenn Martin asked the court for a trial date in October of this year, while Reeves's defense attorney wanted the court to wait for a Florida Supreme Court ruling.
"Let's get it done," Martin said to the court. "This is four years now in the making."
One reason it has taken so long for the case to go to trial is because Reeves invoked the state's "Stand Your Ground" law. After a two-week hearing in the Spring of 2017, Barthle rejected that argument, and later an appeals court has upheld her ruling.
Reeves's attorney Dino Michaels, however, pointed out that the law has changed since then, with the burden of proof in "Stand Your Ground" cases shifting to prosecutors, and he wants to wait until the Florida Supreme Court rules to see if it applies in this case.
Michaels also said his client wants his day in court sooner rather than later.
"I can promise you that Mr. Reeves has been wanting to go to trial from day one and has not been very happy about the delays," Michaels said during the hearing.
Barthle, however, said she couldn't wait for a Supreme Court ruling that could take more than a year to come down.
"It's time to set it for trial," Barthle said. "I'm going to go ahead and set it."
Barthle set aside three weeks for Reeves's trial, which will begin on Feb. 25.
T.J. Grimaldi, attorney for Nicole Oulson, whose husband Reeves shot, said he doesn't believe that Reeves is eager for trial.
"This is obviously my opinion and my opinion only, if he were to want to go to trial from day one I think there would be a little more urgency on behalf of the defense," Grimaldi told us.
Reeves's defense in this case has been that he was in fear of his life during the argument with Oulson, and shot him because he felt he was in danger.