An Orange County jury has convicted 27-year-old Nicholas Carrasquillo of second-degree murder after less than two hours of deliberation for the 2024 road rage shooting that resulted in the death of 30-year-old David Alexzander Sligh. According to WFTV, the family of Sligh expressed that they were "very pleased at how fast the verdict came down," signaling a sense of justice following the tragic incident that left Sligh's then one-year-old son without a father. Carrasquillo, however, claimed he acted in self-defense during the altercation that supposedly started over Sligh cutting him off in traffic.
The prosecution emphasized that the fatal encounter could have been avoided if Carrasquillo had not escalated the situation by retrieving his gun from the glove box. Meanwhile, defense arguments suggested that Sligh's behavior under the influence of bath salts provoked Carrasquillo's actions, as reported by WFTV. Carrasquillo testified that he felt threatened when Sligh did not move at a green light and seemed to reach toward his center console. "I made a decision to save my life," he explained during the trial.
There was no evidence that Sligh possessed a weapon or posed an immediate threat. As WESH reported, Sligh never exited his vehicle during the entire incident. Furthermore, Orlando police interrogation footage, presented at the trial, revealed Carrasquillo admitting that Sligh did not make any verbal threats before the shooting.
No sentencing date has been announced for Carrasquillo, who faces a possible life sentence or a minimum of 25 years in prison.
