PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — Luis Resendizgama was 16 when Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office investigators say he shot and killed 33-year-old William Difonzo Jr.
Now, the teen is free of criminal charges following a rare "Stand Your Ground" ruling.
The case hinged on the key questions: Where exactly did the shooting occur? Could Resendizgama have retreated, or was shooting his only option to survive?
WATCH: How a Palm Beach teen accused of murder won a "Stand Your Ground" defense
A judge ruled in favor of the defense but noted the case is troubling and largely speculative. The state, the judge said, failed to prove Resendizgama wasn’t acting in self-defense. There was no surveillance video or reliable eyewitnesses.
“When there’s no witnesses, the state has the burden of proof in any case,” said Resendizgama’s attorney, Alan Saladrigas.
On March 31, 2023, Resendizgama and Difonzo met at the Meadowbrook Mobile Home Community. Phone records showed they spoke about an hour before the meeting — a detail Saladrigas said suggests a planned encounter. Resendizgama entered the passenger seat of Difonzo’s Chevy Tahoe.
Under Florida law, Stand Your Ground can apply if the person has permission to be where the shooting happened — even if it’s not their property.
At some point in the SUV, a fight broke out. Luis was left bloodied, and signs of strangulation were evident. Saladrigas said his client's blood was found on Difonzo’s knuckle and inside the car.
Saladrigas argued that Luis possibly grabbed Difonzo's gun attached to a magnet under the steering wheel and shot Difonzo while both were still inside.
“Mr. Resendizgama fired in self-defense from inside the vehicle, while in Mr. Difonzo’s grasp and on the receiving end of a physical beating," Saladrigas wrote in court filings.
Saladrigas also said a medical examiner confirmed the shooting likely occurred at close range, between six inches and two feet. Resendizgama fled and was arrested weeks later.
At his home, detectives found a handwritten note describing the encounter. In it, Resendizgama wrote he was scared for his life and didn’t think he’d see his family again.
Saladrigas pointed to physical evidence suggesting the shooting happened inside the SUV — including shell casings found inside the vehicle.
The state challenged the handwritten note, citing inconsistencies, including the wrong date of the shooting.
Difonzo had a violent history. In 2018, he won his own Stand Your Ground case after fatally punching someone outside a Lake Worth bar — a fact Saladrigas said was relevant to Resendizgama’s fear.
Prosecutors also argued Resendizgama had no legal right to be in the SUV.
“Even if there was an initial invitation to enter the vehicle by Mr. Difonzo, a reasonable person would have known after conflict arose that the invitation to remain had terminated," prosecutors wrote in court filings.
They claimed Resendizgama could have been outside the SUV when he fired, meaning he would have had the chance to retreat — disqualifying him from Stand Your Ground protection.
The state also argued Resendizgama “had a duty to retreat as he was not in a place he had a right to be and he was engaged in criminal activity."
Prosecutors said Resendizgama was possibly selling Difonzo a gun and may have stolen from him — potentially provoking Difonzo’s attack.
Nearly a year later, the state introduced a witness who claimed to have heard the shots and seen someone standing by the SUV’s open passenger door before shutting it and fleeing in a pickup truck. Saladrigas countered that the witness ducked for cover first and didn’t look until after the shooting. In that time, he said, Luis could have opened the door to escape.
The judge found the witness’s limited view weakened her testimony.
Saladrigas also criticized the crime scene investigation.
“Remarkably, despite taking nearly 1000 photographs, crime scene investigators never closed the driver's passenger side door… to assess whether the bullet hole defect was visible from anywhere outside the vehicle near the front passenger door," Saladrigas wrote.
His own investigator later photographed the SUV with the doors shut. He said the bullet's trajectory — through a hole in the rear driver’s side window and into a wall outside next to the parking lot — wouldn’t align with a shot fired from outside.
In the end, Circuit Judge James Nutt granted the Stand Your Ground motion but voiced concerns.
"The State has presented evidence demonstrating that the tragic shooting death in this case may have resulted from execution style revenge… But no one knows what the victim was doing at the time," Nutt wrote. "The defense has, in turn, presented evidence that the shots may have been fired while the defendant was inside the car in the grasp of the much larger victim during a bloody scuffle. Unfortunately, neither version of the facts is fully consistent and persuasive. Much of the case has been left to speculation.”
The judge concluded, “Even though there is a fair likelihood he did not and should not have escalated the use of force, the legislature has imposed a stricter burden upon the State which has not been met.”
The Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office issued a statement in response:
“The Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office strives to prosecute every case with integrity and in good faith. While we respect the court’s decision, we stand by our actions taken in this case. Our priority remains clear: to pursue justice, protect our community, and support victims of crimes. We will continue to fulfill that mission with the highest ethical standards.”
