A Sarasota judge has denied a motion to dismiss a murder case against a Sarasota man accused of fatally shooting his boyfriend at the Hyatt Place Hotel in December 2021.
Circuit Court Judge Thomas Krug released his order denying the motion against the defendant, 28-year-old Brennan Wakey, finding that the prosecution proved through clear and convincing evidence that Wakey did not shoot 24-year-old Colton Wright in self-defense.
In mid-January of 2024, Wakey filed the motion to dismiss the criminal case against him under Florida’s Stand Your Ground law, claiming he had no choice but to fire the gun at Wright. In what became a three-part Stand Your Ground hearing over the course of the year, Wakey testified that Wright had seemed different and more violent the night of the shooting.