TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- A federal immigration agent has lost his "stand-your-ground" appeal in a stabbing at football game in Tallahassee.
A three-judge panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal on Friday rejected the appeal from University of Miami fan Edward Mederos. He is charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon - his government-issued knife.
Mederos claimed he acted in self-defense to protect a friend, a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agent, from a rival fan outside Florida State University's stadium in 2009.
A trial judge, though, rejected his pretrial claim of immunity under Florida's "stand your ground" law. It lifts the common law requirement to retreat before using deadly force in self-defense.
The appellate court noted Mederos still could use "stand your ground" as a trial defense.