- Weird Battery out of Suncoast Estates in North Fort Myers
- Shillelagh, Caulking Gun, and Knife all alleged weapons
Daniel Ehrhardt
A pair of brothers from North Fort Myers were arrested this week for a fight that got out of hand… way out of hand. When deputies responded, they found Daniel Ehrhardt had fresh cuts and bruises, and he reported that his brother had beaten him with a Shillelagh (a Irish stick, sometimes used for walking or fighting). The brother, Karl Ehrhardt, has been arrested for Aggravated Battery.
Man with Shillelagh
When deputies spoke to Karl, he said that his brother attacked him first: starting with fists and then coming at him with knife. Karl says he threw a caulking gun at Daniel, but that didn’t stop him, so he grabbed a shillelagh and struck him. He sustained several cuts from the knife. Daniel claims that after he was beaten, Karl cut himself with the knife to claim self-defense. Witnesses indicated that they did see Daniel with a knife.
Karl Ehrhardt
Ultimately, Detectives were unable to determine exactly what happened, or who the primary aggressor was, and arrested both brothers. This is probably illegal too, as the Stand Your Ground law states that law enforcement “may not arrest the person for using or threatening to use force unless it determines that there is probable cause that the force that was used or threatened was unlawful.” Fla. Stat. Sec. 776.032(2). How can they say the force was unlawful if they cannot determine who the primary aggressor was? Ultimately, the State is unlikely to determine who was justified, and will be hard pressed to proceed against either brother unless the eyewitnesses prove reliable. #weirdbattery
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