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2h ago

Judge Advances Stand Your Ground Hearing for Miami-Dade Officer in 2019 Miramar Shootout Case

The ruling shifts the burden to prosecutors at an evidentiary hearing that could dismiss Jose Mateo's manslaughter charge.

Miramar Police and Miami-Dade Police work the crime scene at the intersection of Miramar Parkway and Flamingo Road in an undated South Florida Sun Sentinel file photo. (South Florida Sun Sentinel file photo)
Defendant Jose Mateo with his lawyer Richard Diaz argues Florida’s stand-your-ground statute before Judge Ernest A. Kollra on Friday, Aug. 22, 2025. Mateo is one of four Miami-Dade officers charged with manslaughter in the case stemming from the death of UPS driver Frank Ordonez, who was shot by police during a shootout with his kidnappers. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
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Overview

  • Broward Circuit Judge Ernest Kollra Jr. found Officer Jose Mateo made a prima facie claim under Florida’s self-defense law, clearing the way for a Stand Your Ground hearing.
  • The court’s order places the burden on the State to rebut the claim at the upcoming proceeding.
  • Evidence and arguments are being heard this week, with jury selection in Mateo’s case scheduled to begin afterward if the case moves forward.
  • Prosecutors contend Stand Your Ground should not apply because victims Frank Ordonez and Richard Cutshaw were not in direct confrontation with police.
  • Mateo is one of four Miami-Dade officers indicted in 2024 over the 2019 chase and shootout that killed suspects Ronnie Jerome Hill and Lamar Alexander as well as Ordonez and bystander Richard Cutshaw.