HILLIARD, Fla. – The State Attorney’s Office has dropped a murder charge against a Hilliard man, saying he acted in self-defense and in the defense of his mother when he shot and killed his stepfather.
Skylor Cole Johnson, 24, originally faced a second-degree murder charge in the death of Richard Crews, who was killed in a shooting last September that unfolded at the family’s Rooster Lane home.
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Johnson’s attorneys filed a petition claiming self-defense under Florida’s Stand Your Ground law.
The petition argued that the Sept. 2, 2019, shooting stemmed from a dispute between Crews, 38, and Johnson’s mother. It stated that Crews attacked Johnson’s mother and threatened to kill her.
Crews was taken to an area hospital but did not survive.
After reviewing the case, prosecutors found that the use of deadly force was justified. Based on the evidence, they determined that a jury was unlikely to convict Johnson of second-degree murder.