St. Lucie County - Tuesday, November 22, 2022: The St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office has announced that the State Attorney for the 19th Judicial Circuit of Florida has declined prosecution in the death of Joseph Warren Tenore.
Their decision was based on "strong evidence" that supports a stand your ground case, according to a news release from SLC Sheriff Ken Mascara.
Under Florida’s stand-your-ground law, the use of deadly force is justifiable if the individual reasonably believed that the force was necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself or another or the imminent commission of aggravated assault upon himself or another. Additionally, the individual must not have been engaged in criminal activity or trespassing.
The Sheriff's news release states that at 6:45 p.m. on March 1 his Deputies responded to multiple 9-1-1 calls at Specialized Trailer & Marine Services office on US 1 just south of Indrio Road in Fort Pierce.
Upon arrival the Deputies learned that a physical altercation amongst four people had escalated into an exchange of gunfire which claimed the life of Tenore who as pronounced dead at the scene.
A second person, Michael Joseph Sadlon, was injured by the gunfire. Sadlon, was taken to a local hospital where he was treated for a single gunshot wound to his ankle.
The other two individuals involved, Joseph Bernard Tenore and David Clark Silva, Jr., had visible injuries consistent with being involved in a physical altercation. Silva was identified as the shooter.
Sheriff Mascara goes on to state that "after reviewing the facts, our initial findings suggested that all four individuals were actively engaged in the altercation and that the shooter, David Clark Silva, Jr., may have acted in self-defense."
The Office of the State Attorney for the 19th Judicial Circuit of Florida has conducted a thorough and independent review of this case and has determined that there is in fact enough evidence to support that Silva’s actions align with Florida’s stand-your-ground law and that he acted in self-defense. The evidence does not support a probable cause for murder beyond a reasonable doubt.
"While the loss of life from this incident is tragic, the Office of the State Attorney must enforce Florida law, which we concur with," said Sheriff Mascara. "As such, none of the four individuals involved face prosecution in this case."