Lukace Kendle
Lukace Kendle (born May 5, 1986) is an American former security guard who was convicted of second degree murder with a firearm and attempted murder for a 2012 shooting that killed Kijuan Byrd and left Michael Smathers paralyzed. Kendle fired eight times at Byrd, with at least four of the shots being fired at Byrd's back as he crawled under the truck. Byrd was murdered and Smathers was paralyzed. Smathers has denied any threats being made: "we see the security, he sees us, and there were no words even exchanged," Smathers said. "The only thing I remember  was opening my car door, and him telling me to put my hands up. After that, I was shot." Kendle was 29 years old when he was convicted for murdering Byrd and attempting to murder Smathers. Trial. Kendle decided to represent himself at trial. During the trial, Kendle's former attorney Carlos Pelayo Gonzalez said; "we have physical evidence and testimonial evidence has been given pre-trial that there was another gun involved, but Mr. Kendle, because he's representing himself, doesn't know how to get that evidence to the trial". Kendle told jurors: "the reason the evidence was  fabricated is because I'm white". Despite a warning from the judge he added: "The subjects I shot were African American. I can prove that [...] What they're not allowing me to tell you is that I was arrested because of the George Zimmerman shooting." Kendle was sentenced to life imprisonment with a twenty-five-year minimum mandatory term for the second-degree murder of Byrd, and thirty years with a twenty-five-year minimum mandatory term for the attempted second-degree murder of Smathers. Controversy. CNN and the Center for Investigative Reporting conducted a year long investigation into the  licensing of armed security guards. They reported that there are no federal training standards for armed guards and that no national database exists to keep track of abuses. One of the cases they focused on was Kendle's. CNN reported that Kendle's prior convictions for DUI and public drunkenness had not disqualified him from getting an armed guard license in Florida. Additionally, he had not disclosed that he was discharged from the Navy after several alcohol-related offenses. Kendle's employer was Force Protection Security. An attorney speaking on behalf of the company's owner said Kendle had the  necessary training and passed the required background checks for the position. A prison psychiatrist who examined Kendle after the shooting diagnosed him with "impulse control disorder" and "anti-social personality disorder". A second court-appointed psychiatrist determined that there is a "substantial likelihood" he is "suffering from a mental illness." Additional diagnosis by court-appointed psychiatrists included "unspecified schizophrenia spectrum" and "other psychotic disorder." Kendle claimed his case fell under the same stand your ground defense that came under fire after George Zimmerman was exonerated in the 2012 shooting of Trayvon Martin under a normal self defense claim. Lukace Kendle