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Stand Your Ground claim denied for man accused of murdering Savannah Gold at Mandarin restaurant

Lee Rodarte argued he was acting in self defense when he killed onetime girlfriend Savannah Gold outside the Bonefish Grill where they both worked.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The video with this story is from an earlier report.

Accused killer Lee Rodarte cannot claim Stand Your Ground immunity in the death of his former girlfriend Savannah Gold, according to an opinion from the  First District Court of Appeal.

The opinion issued Wednesday rejected his claim that he's entitled to immunity because he was acting in self-defense. Rodarte claims Gold attacked him as the two sat in a car outside the Mandarin Bonefish Grill where she was a server and he was a cook. He says he wrapped his hands around her neck to stop her, and then heard a pop.  

Rodarte initially denied having seen Gold for days after she was first reported missing Aug. 2, 2017. He later led police to the retention pond where Gold’s body had been dumped. She had been wrapped in a plastic sheet and bound in duct tape. Seventy-five percent of her body had been burned.

Rodarte's trial was set to begin in the summer of 2019, but the last minute Stand Your Ground claim delayed that. SYG claims are typically litigated at the start of a case -- even before charges are filed. 

This is a developing story.

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