Pinellas judge denies stand your ground defense in Howard Frankland stabbing

Yahoo

16-05-2025

A Pinellas judge has rejected a stand your ground claim from a former federal prosecutor who says he acted in self-defense when he stabbed another driver after a traffic crash on the Howard Frankland Bridge.
Patrick Scruggs smashed the man's window and stabbed him about seven times in the arm because he feared for his safety, he testified during a two-day hearing earlier this month.
After hearing from Scruggs, the victim and several witnesses, Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Keith Meyer handed down his ruling Friday and set a trial for Sept. 9.
Their testimony showed Scruggs was 'acting out of anger and frustration, not in fear,' Meyer wrote in a court order.
'The balance of the evidence demonstrated that the defendant was not acting reasonably,' he wrote.
Scruggs' lawyers had sought to dismiss the case under Florida's controversial stand your ground law.
'In all of this, Mr. Scruggs was attempting to prevent what appeared to be a very obviously impaired driver from harming himself with the vehicle,' Lee Pearlman, Scruggs' attorney, said during the hearing's opening statements. 'But also to prevent that man from trashing his own vehicle and continuing to flee down the bridge during rush-hour traffic.'
On the books since 2005, the stand your ground law extended self-defense in Florida by removing what's known as the 'duty to retreat' when a person is faced with the threat of a violent confrontation. It permits the use of deadly force in situations where a person reasonably believes it is necessary to prevent death or great bodily harm.
If a judge determines a case meets the criteria of the law, the defendant will be declared immune from prosecution. The law received strong support from the National Rifle Association when it passed.
Prosecutors argued Scruggs did not act as a 'prudent person' would have in the face of an 'imminent threat.'
Meyer agreed.
'A reasonable and prudent person, even under the circumstances ... would not believe that the use of deadly force was necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm or the imminent commission of a forcible felony,' he wrote.
The incident occurred on Sept. 26, 2023, when Blake Sharp stopped his Lexus in traffic and slumped over into the passenger seat. Another driver, Ahmed Gahaf, saw him and pulled over to try to help, Gahaf testified.
Sharp suddenly sped forward, crashing into the back of Gahaf's car, before he backed up and veered into a left lane, where he collided with Scruggs' Honda Civic.
Scruggs got out of his car, clutching a small pocketknife that he used to break Sharp's car window, he testified. When he reached inside to turn the car off, a struggle between Scruggs and Sharp began.
Gahaf said he approached the car, but ran away after Scruggs turned and lunged at him with the knife. After Sharp accelerated again, Scruggs began to stab him, the former prosecutor said.
Sharp testified he'd had a 'medical episode' that caused him to pass out at the wheel. He woke up to Scruggs raining down blows, he said.
To Scruggs and Gahaf, Sharp appeared impaired. Sharp denied he had consumed drugs or alcohol that morning. Defense attorneys filed a motion to include in the case evidence from Sharp's prior DUI conviction.
At the time of the crash, Sharp was on probation after he was found intoxicated and passed out in his car near Tropicana Field. Sharp has since been sentenced to prison for a probation violation in a Hernando County case.
Witnesses who recorded the bridge stabbing said they feared retribution from the man wielding the knife. They also said it appeared Scruggs returned to stab Sharp a second time. From the stand, Scruggs denied a second stabbing.
When St. Petersburg police arrived, Scruggs cooperated. He appeared calm and collected, one officer testified. Scruggs was arrested and booked on aggravated battery and other charges.
Scruggs said Sharp escalated the situation by grabbing his arms and trying to pull him into the car. Meyer wrote Friday he saw no evidence of Scruggs' claim in recordings shown in court.