NATIONWIDE — Eddie Duran, a former sheriff’s deputy from Fort Walton Beach, Florida, who shot and killed U.S. Airman Roger Fortson, a 23-year-old African American, is still headed for trial after a judge rejected his latest attempt to dismiss the manslaughter charge against him. The Sept. 11 ruling keeps the case on track for a Sept. 28 trial, although Duran’s attorneys plan to appeal and have also asked Judge William F. Stone to step aside.
Prosecutors charged Duran with manslaughter in August 2024, months after the shooting at Fortson’s apartment. Since then, his defense team has made several attempts to delay or end the case. In July, they filed a 53-page motion that included arguments based partly on Duran’s previous experience in law enforcement. Stone rejected the latest request to dismiss the charge. Duran then accused the judge of “improper unsolicited editorializing” about Fortson’s military service and personal accomplishments and asked for his removal from the case, according to Atlanta Black Star.
The shooting happened on May 3, 2024, when Duran responded to a complaint at the apartment complex where Fortson lived alone. A leasing consultant had contacted the sheriff’s non-emergency line after a tenant reported a possible disturbance from the apartment below. Duran went to Fortson’s door, knocked repeatedly, and announced, “Sheriff’s Office.” Court proceedings have focused on what happened next, including the fact that Duran positioned himself away from the peephole.
Fortson opened the door while holding a legally owned handgun pointed down at his side. Duran shot him within seconds. The 23-year-old airman was inside his home with his dog and had been playing video games, according to his mother, Meka Fortson. Duran later argued that Florida’s self-defense and Stand Your Ground laws protected him from prosecution. Stone disagreed and ruled that people in Florida have a legal right to openly carry a firearm inside their homes. He also said those rights do not disappear simply because a person hears a law enforcement officer announce himself outside the door.
The judge further found that prosecutors had presented clear and convincing evidence that overcame Duran’s self-defense immunity claim. Stone wrote that a person inside an apartment is not automatically required to believe that someone outside is really a police officer just because the person says, “Sheriff’s Office. Open the door.” That decision allows the manslaughter case to move forward instead of ending with a pretrial dismissal.
Meka Fortson has attended every hearing since her son’s death, making the trip from Georgia to Florida each time. She said the repeated legal efforts have made an already painful process even harder. “You want all this time, but you killed Roger so fast,” she said. She also said she does not expect to feel satisfied until the case reaches a verdict. “You can’t just kill people because you wear a badge,” she said. Duran remains free to pursue additional legal challenges before the scheduled Sept. 28 trial.
