How many punches equal deadly force, before the blows justify a response with deadly force, in this case a knife?
How many punches did Kayla Baxter, an 18-year old Daytona Beach woman weighing 115 pounds, have to take from Keith Lovett, a 37-year-old convicted felon weighing 165 pounds, before she stabbed him in the face?
That’s one of the main questions Circuit Judge Terence Perkins posed during a recent stand-your-ground hearing for Baxter, who is represented by defense attorney Michael Lambert.
“Mr. Lambert, when does a punch become deadly force,” Perkins asked.
“When it doesn’t stop,” Lambert replied. “I think if you hit somebody once and you walk away that’s not deadly force, but he persisted. He wasn’t going to let her alone. She said he hit her five times.”
Assistant State Attorney Megan Upchurch said she did not have a clear answer, but Baxter did not have the right to stab Lovett.
“Even being punched five times before does not justify the use of deadly force,” Upchurch said. “He did not have a weapon.”
Baxter is charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison and possession of marijuana with intent to sell, because police said she was carrying bags of marijuana. The dealing charge is a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison. Baxter is being held on $20,000 bail at the Volusia Branch Jail.
Her case even included a motion by Lambert asking that the judge recuse himself.
Florida’s stand-your-ground law allows a person to threaten to use or actually use deadly force if he or she reasonably believes it's needed to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm or to prevent a forcible felony, such as aggravated assault. The law drew international attention when George Zimmerman shot and killed Trayvon Martin in 2012 in Sanford as Martin, who was unarmed, fought Zimmerman. A jury later acquitted Zimmerman.
The confrontation between Baxter and Lovett occurred on Sept. 21, 2014, at Daytona Food Store at 616 Ridgewood Ave. in Daytona Beach. According to Lambert’s stand-your-ground motion, Lovett confronted and berated Baxter, who warned him to leave her alone. Lovett punched Baxter in the face and she stabbed him. Baxter then tried to ride away on her bicycle but Lovett held her until police arrived.
A witness, Venkata Chereddy, was in the store at the time and testified that he saw Lovett approach Baxter even though she pulled out a knife and warned him not to. Chereddy said he saw Lovett punch her and continue to fight even after she stabbed him.
Lovett testified that during the hearing that that only time he touched Baxter was when he put up his arm to block her knife attack. Lovett said when she tried to get away he grabbed the wheel on her bike but not her.
Lambert said Lovett had been convicted of nine felonies. He's served prison time for burglaries and a battery.
Baxter testified that she stabbed Lovett to defend herself.
“Cause he was beating me up. He pretty much hit me a couple of times and I hit the ground and I finally was in too much pain and I had to do something,” Baxter said.
