an Aug. 6 hearing<\/a>, Moreno-Cobo contended that he shot Sykes in self-defense and moved for immunity under Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law.<\/p>\nUnder the law, a person may use deadly force if they reasonably believe it is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm.<\/p>\n
Following the hearing, the court found Moreno-Cobo has established a prima facie claim for relief, proving that he is entitled to such immunity.<\/p>\n
According to court documents, Sykes was found to be the initial aggressor in the situation, stating that “any reasonable, objective person would fear that Mr. Sykes was going to commit a forcible felony on him and\/or his passengers.”<\/p>\n
The court ruled in favor of Moreno-Cobo, stating that the state failed to prove by clear and convincing evidence that he was not entitled to immunity under Florida’s law.<\/p>\n
“Accordingly, Mr. Moreno-Cobo is entitled to immunity from criminal prosecution and civil action pursuant to section 776.032(1),” the documents said.<\/p>\n
Section 776.032(1) reads as follows:<\/p>\n
A person is justified in using or threatening to use deadly force if he
or she reasonably believes that using or threatening to use such force
is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to
himself or herself or another or to prevent the imminent commission
of a forcible felony. A person who uses or threatens to use deadly
force in accordance with this subsection does not have a duty to
retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground if the person using
or threatening to use the deadly force is not engaged in a criminal
activity and is in a place where he or she has a right to be.<\/p>\n
The Office of State Attorney, 13th Judicial Circuit released the following statement regarding the case:<\/p>\n
While we understand the Court’s decision, we respectfully disagree with the outcome. We will continue to advocate for accountability when the evidence supports criminal charges. Above all, our hearts remain with the victim’s family and loved ones who have experienced a devastating loss. We know today’s ruling does not change the grief they continue to carry, and we remain committed to supporting them.<\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Previous coverage: Deadly roadway dispute now in judge’s hands TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) \u2014 A judge dismissed a murder…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":382510,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[152316,32109,153454,34302,34303,135,153455,137,136,567],"class_list":["post-382509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-deadly-force","tag-dedrick-sykes","tag-imminent-death","tag-joel-moreno-cobo","tag-moreno-cobo","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-dj","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news","tag-wfla"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/382509","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=382509"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/382509\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/382510"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=382509"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=382509"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=382509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}