ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — The man accused of killing another man outside the Savoy Nightclub in Orlando’s Ivanhoe district last week will be allowed out of jail as he prepares for trial – and for the possible dismissal of his case.
Jean Borja’s attorney, Mark O’Mara, has said Borja pulled the trigger, killing Julien Cruz amid a fight outside the nightclub.
New video evidence appeared to support the case O’Mara was beginning to build, that Borja acted in self-defense when he opened fire.
The video showed Borja almost hitting Cruz’s partner with his Jeep as the intoxicated man walked in the road outside the club.
Borja then pulled over and got out of his car after Cruz’s partner yelled at him about his driving.
The pair began to fight, with others, including Cruz, joining in. Cruz and his partner eventually push Borja to the ground.
The video then shows Borja getting up and walking to his car, with Cruz and Cruz’s partner following him.
Attorneys argue over what happened next: either Borja was trying to pull his door closed while Cruz and Cruz’s partner tried to get into the car – as O’Mara claimed – or the pair were pushing the door shut as Borja emerged with a gun.
O’Mara said Borja’s pant leg was covered with Cruz’s blood, suggesting the door was open and Cruz was almost on top of Borja when the bullet hit him.
“They should have stayed away from his car,” O’Mara said, adding that it was a felony to break into someone else’s car and deadly force was justified in that case.
Prosecutors struggled with their narrative throughout the hearing, although much of that struggle came from them trying to make sense of conflicting witness statements.
They argued Borja was the aggressor and should have kept driving.
“You stopped, you got out of the car,” one prosecutor practically yelled in frustration. “You committed the crime!”
The judge said Borja should be allowed out of jail on a $75,000 bond.
O’Mara said a self-defense hearing would happen in the coming months, where he could argue to dismiss Borja’s case completely.
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