Florida Court Denies Movie Theater Killer Bail
Is the shine coming off the Florida “Stand Your Ground” turd? Maybe. But then, remember that this was white-on-white crime – and there’s also the matter of video evidence.
After a day in court in which a grainy video of his deadly encounter with a fellow moviegoer was shown, a retired Tampa police captain was denied bail on Friday on charges of second-degree murder.
The retired captain, Curtis J. Reeves Jr., 71, who is accused of fatally shooting Chad Oulson, 43, at a theater outside Tampa on Jan. 13, was led away by Pasco County sheriff’s deputies.
Mr. Reeves, dressed in a navy blue sweater, fixed his glance on his family as he walked out.
The decision by Judge Pat Siracusa came after two days of emotional testimony, highlighted by the playing of the surveillance video, taken from motion-activated infrared cameras inside the theater, and audio of interviews of Mr. Reeves and his wife and the victim’s wife, Nicole Oulson.
The video from the Cobb Theater in Wesley Chapel, about 20 miles northeast of Tampa, shows the encounter in its extreme right corner. Mr. Reeves is shown tapping Mr. Oulson on the shoulder and talking to him. Mr. Reeves then gets up and leaves. When he returns and sits down, he speaks to Mr. Oulson again. A few seconds later, an arm can be seen in the frame, and something appears to be airborne.
