FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Alexander Deltoro, Jr., said that when he grabbed a gun in 2019 it misfired as he was trying to defend his mother from his father -- not kill her.
The domestic violence tragedy in Margate was after Deltoro celebrated his 28th birthday dinner with his family on Dec. 14, 2019.
According to Lt. Sean Cobban’s Dec. 15, 2019 arrest report, a father-son fight in the car after dinner continued at their home before the fatal shooting.
“I had just turned around and that’s when I see him reaching toward his jacket pocket,” Deltoro, 33, said Monday as he testified during his manslaughter trial in Broward County Circuit Judge Lorena V. Mastrarrigo’s courtroom in Fort Lauderdale.
Deltoro said his father was armed that evening, so since he perceived him as a threat to him and his mother he shouted, “Leave us alone!” and “Get away from us!”
Deltoro said he pulled out the 9mm Glock that killed his mother after his father “reached into his right jacket pocket with his right hand”
Deltoro blamed his father for the fatal gunshot.
“I went to raise the gun,” Deltoro said. “That’s when he came in with his left arm, and he smacked the gun out of my hand ... At that point, the gun went off.”
His mother, Cindy Deltoro, was shot in the head, while physically trying to stop him and his father from fighting, according to Margate detectives. She was 60.
Prosecutors filed a case against him on Dec. 16, 2019, for manslaughter, a first-degree felony; carrying a concealed firearm, a third-degree felony; and battery, a first-degree misdemeanor.
County court records show his arraignment was on Jan. 16, 2020, and Broward County Sheriff’s Office correctional deputies released him a day later on a $40,000 bond.
His defense claimed it was a self-defense shooting because he saw his father reaching for a gun, but the judge sided with the prosecution and denied a Stand Your Ground motion to dismiss the case.
During closing arguments, prosecutors accused the defendant of pulling the trigger. After the defense finishes closing arguments, the case will be in the hands of the jury.