Retired Cop Pleads Not Guilty to Texting-in-Theater Shooting

Curtis Reeves Jr. could face 25 years in prison

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The retired police captain accused of shooting and killing a man who was texting in a Florida movie theater this month pleaded not guilty on Wednesday.

Curtis Reeves Jr., 71, was charged with second-degree murder in the shooting. Reeves claimed to be “in fear of being attacked” when he shot 43-year-old Chad Oulson, who had been texting his three-year-old daughter during previews, the Tampa Bay Times reports. Reeves pleaded not guilty, NBC News reports, and a judge was set to rule later on Wednesday whether or not to allow bail. A judge denied bail in January, but Reeves’ attorney says he’s no longer a threat to the community and that he acted in self-defense when he shot 43-year-old Chad Oulson.

A judge also ruled Wednesday that infrared surveillance video from the theater could be showed in court. A 2011 state law makes releasing videos and photos that depict a person’s death a third-degree felony. “Withholding this video from public view would only fuel speculation of what’s on it,” Circuit Court Judge Pat Siracusa said during the bail hearing, according to NBC News.

If found guilty of second degree murder, Reeves could face 25 years in prison.

[NBC News]