(Jean Gabriel Borja Gil De La Madre mugshot)
ORLANDO | A murder charge has been dropped against the man accused in a deadly shooting earlier this year outside the popular LGBTQ+ nightclub SAVOY Orlando.
The charge was dropped on June 9 against Jean Gabriel Borja Gil de la Madr, 37, because the court is “unable to prove beyond a reasonable doubt” whether the “use of force” was not justified, according to the state attorney’s office, which filed a notice of no information.
Borja was being charged with second-degree murder with a firearm after a verbal and physical altercation early Feb. 22. The incident occurred at approximately 2:31 a.m. in the 1900 block of North Orange Avenue, north of Lake Ivanhoe, according to the Orlando Police Department.
When OPD arrived at the scene, they found Julien Emmanuel Cruz, 33, with a gunshot wound. He was transported to a nearby hospital, where he later died, police said. An investigation revealed an altercation that took place on the sidewalk prior to the shooting.
Cruz’s father, Anthony Cruz, told WESH 2 that his son was gay and was at SAVOY with his partner enjoying the evening.
“My son’s supposed to be burying me, I’m not supposed to be burying my son,” he said. “I’m numb… I’ve been crying all day.”
During a bond hearing, surveillance footage from the night of the shooting was played in court. The video showed Cruz approaching the shooter’s car and grabbing the driver’s door before being fatally shot.
Defense attorney Mark O’Mara told WESH 2 News in March that he planned to file a motion for what’s known as a stand-your-ground hearing, but now that’s not needed.
“The harsh reality is if I’m sitting in my car and you break into it with ill intent, like you’re going to hit me, that’s a forcible felony. It’s a burglary of a conveyance — my car, a conveyance, you break into it like that and you’ve committed a forcible felony and you can get yourself shot, which is what happened here,” O’Mara said.
Court records also show Borjar’s bond, which he posted in March for $75,000, has been discharged.
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