Wednesday, a Florida jury found former football player Travis Rudolph,27, not guilty on all counts of murder.
Rudolph, who briefly played in the NFL, was charged with one count of first-degree murder and three counts of attempted murder in relation to a deadly shooting that occurred outside his Lake Park residence two years ago.
On April 7, 2021, around midnight, four men approached Rudolph’s home to address a dispute that had taken place between him and his girlfriend earlier that day. According to Rudolph, the situation escalated into a violent confrontation, prompting him to arm himself with a rifle. He then fired it in their direction as they drove away, injuring one of the men and killing 21-year-old Sebastien Jean-Jacques in the passenger seat.
Rudolph had been on house arrest since last year after a judge refused to dismiss the case based on his “stand your ground” defense claims, leaving it up for the jury to decide.
While prosecutors accused him of being the aggressor, bringing a gun to a fistfight, Rudolph maintained the shooting was a result of self-defense after seeing two guns pointed at him.
Following the verdict, the judge ordered Rudolph’s house arrest monitor be removed.
