ORLANDO, Fla. — An Orange County jury has acquitted a man of murder in a case where he never pulled the trigger.
The jury found Cristian Duran Contreras not guilty of murder or manslaughter following Wednesday’s closing arguments. He was, however, found guilty of trespassing.
He will not serve further jail time for the trespassing count.
The felony murder charge Contreras was facing stemmed from a home burglary on West Castle Street in February. He was targeting the home of Jose Luis Lopez. The two worked together at a roofing company.
Investigators say after Contreras broke into Lopez’s home, the two started fighting.
Responding deputies say they saw Lopez holding Contreras in a headlock and thought he had a knife. That’s when the two deputies shot at Lopez, not knowing he lived there.
One deputy’s bullet struck Lopez, killing hm.
It was later determined that Lopez did not have a knife.
Under Florida law, Contreras was charged with murder because someone died during the commission of a crime. Under this law, the defendant does not have to kill the victim to be charged.
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