A Florida man was found guilty by a Miami-Dade County jury of second-degree murder with firearm and attempted murder on Friday and may possibly face a life sentence.
Lukace Kendle, 29, who had previously worked as a security guard, had claimed self-defense when he shot two unarmed black men outside a strip club in Miami. Kijuan Byrd was killed and Michael Smathers was left paralyzed, according to the San Francisco Gate.
During the trial on Sept. 1, Kendle took it upon himself to act as his own lawyer and tried to justify his actions.
"The reason the evidence was fabricated is because I'm white," Kendle told jurors at the start of his murder trial.
Kendle then took his argument to a place where the judge had cautioned him to stay away from. "The subjects I shot were African American. I can prove that. What they're not allowing me to tell you is that I was arrested because of the George Zimmerman shooting," he said, The Miami Herald reported.
The victims, Byrd and Smathers, were having a barbecue and had played pool in the latter's home when Kendle, who started his shift an hour before midnight, pulled over and confronted the men with a gun in hand.
Kendle then proceeded to open fire at the two unarmed men, with Byrd getting hit numerous times in the back. Smathers, on the other hand, became a paraplegic. Kendle was arrested a week after the shooting, according to Brandenton Herald.
