BARTOW, Fla. – A man wanted in connection with a fatal shooting that deputies say may be a case of "stand your ground" has turned himself in, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office.
Deputies say 28-year-old Joshua Pacheco turned himself in to authorities Monday night, after Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said he wanted to hear his side of the story in the shooting at a Bartow Citgo gas station over the weekend that left 29-year-old Julian Garcia dead.
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Surveillance video from the Saturday incident showed Garcia approaching Pacheco, who told deputies he was waiting on his girlfriend to pick him up, at which point Garcia started, the Sheriff's Office said.
Pacheco tried to get away from Garcia, but Garcia continued to pick the fight with him and Pacheco eventually shot Garcia in the stomach, deputies said. Garcia was taken to a hospital, where he later died.
The men did not know each other and deputies said there was no clear reason as to why Garcia started the fight, but they believe Pacheco was acting in self-defense when he shot Garcia.
Judd called on Pacheco, who is a convicted felon, to turn himself in Monday after he fled the scene of the shooting.
When Pacheco met with investigators, he told them he left because he was scared due to the fact that he was still on probation, deputies said. Pacheco also admitted to to removing his clothes and throwing them into a dumpster after the shooting, according to the Sheriff's Office.
Pacheco turned the gun in to detectives and was booked into the Polk County Jail on charges of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, violation of probation and tampering with physical evidence, deputies said. His bond was set at $50,000.
Judd said in the news conference Monday that the Stand Your Ground law was created in Florida for cases like this one.
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"Initially, this is what Stand Your Ground was created for. It was created for the person standing there, minding their business, no conflict, no interaction, no problems, and all of a sudden this person creates a formidable, violent threat where you can believe you’re going to be significantly injured or killed and you have the right to defend yourself," Judd said.
Judd said that once the Sheriff's Office completes its investigation, it will hand it over to the state attorneys office, which will ultimately decide what charges Pacheco may face.