Was Florida man justified in killing gunman after the shooting stopped? A jury decides.
Prosecutors said the threat of danger had already passed by the time Brandon Cowins ran into an accused gunman with his car to stop him from shooting others.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Attorneys pored over surveillance-camera footage in court this month, slowing it down and blowing it up day after day so jurors could scrutinize the decision Brandon Cowins said he had only moments to make when a gunman opened fire outside his home.
Egged on by his girlfriend — or to protect others in his Florida neighborhood from the bullets — Cowins reversed his car out of the driveway and raced down the street to where 20-year-old Anthony Esquivel fled after he stopped pulling the trigger.
Cowins swerved into Esquivel as he ran, striking him with his car and throwing him 40 feet. He died instantly.
Deputies charged Cowins with premeditated murder on July 24, 2021. He fought the charge at trial last week, leaving jurors to decide whether he killed Esquivel in a fit of rage or to prevent what he believed was imminent danger. The jury landed somewhere in between.
They didn't believe Cowins plotted to kill Esquivel, but they didn't think he was justified in killing him, either. Jurors convicted the 27-year-old man of second-degree murder, sparing him an automatic life sentence and leaving his fate to the discretion of Circuit Judge Daliah Weiss.
Family dispute in Palm Beach County neighborhood interrupted by gunfire
An argument between Esquivel and his mother's boyfriend precipitated the shooting along Urquhart Street in Lake Worth, Florida. Witnesses testified that the men fought loudly over Esquivel's decision to spend the previous night with a woman. The dispute woke Cowins and his girlfriend, asleep next door.
Cowins' girlfriend walked to the yard they shared with the Esquivel family to act as a mediator, said Assistant Public Defender Stephanie Gagerie. Cowins was more interested in replacing the air filter in his car. He stood in the driveway with his car keys in hand when Esquivel fired his gun feet away.
Witnesses said Esquivel stashed the gun in his backpack and began to walk away from the yard before breaking into a sprint, leaving his and Cowins' families shaken but unharmed behind him. Fifty-three seconds later, Cowins backed out of his driveway and sped toward Esquivel.
“Under no circumstances is that self-defense,” said Assistant State Attorney Francine Edwards. “Under none.”
It was retaliation, she said — punishment, revenge, vigilantism. Cowins' attorneys disagreed.
Defense attorneys say Cowins' 'protector' instinct kicked in
Gagerie said Cowins cried as he drove toward his retreating neighbor, unsure if his girlfriend had been shot and panicked about what Esquivel planned to do next. The lawyer imitated for jurors what Cowins said was going through his mind when he put his foot on the gas: "He still has a gun. Other people are in danger. What do I do? How do I stop this?"
He should have called the police, Assistant State Attorney Courtney Behar said.
Cowins told jurors he was traumatized by a lifetime of loss and was desperate to protect his loved ones and neighbors from Esquivel's line of fire. Witnesses said he leapt out of the car to confront Esquivel after hitting him, not yet realizing he was dead.
He faces up to 30 years in prison. Weiss will sentence him Aug. 25.
Hannah Phillips is a journalist covering public safety and criminal justice at The Palm Beach Post, a member of the Paste BN Network. You can reach her at hphillips@pbpost.com.