Emergency personnel enter the home at 8545 De Havilland Court on Oct. 19, 2014, after Eric Deffendall was found shot to death on the floor of the first-floor family room in the Vero Beach home. (FILE PHOTO)

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By Dan Garcia, Special to Treasure Coast Newspapers

VERO BEACH — A 41-year-old man who is claiming a "stand your ground" defense after fatally shooting his older brother in 2014 during a drunken fight in their Indian River Aerodrome home testified April 1 he simply can't remember any details of the shooting.

Mark E. Deffendall, who is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of Eric Deffendall, 42, testified he and his brother argued during a long night of drinking and drug use, but he could not recall details of the actual shooting.

Under questioning by Assistant State Attorney Chris Taylor, Mark Deffendall repeatedly testified "I don't remember" when asked to recall how the violence culminated on Oct. 19, 2014.

The hearing before Circuit Judge Cynthia L. Cox was the first of several pretrial hearings in which witnesses will testify for the defense and the prosecution. Cox will issue a ruling on whether the "stand your ground" defense applies in the case.

According to Florida's "stand your ground" law, a person may use deadly force in self-defense if he or she is in imminent threat of death or great bodily harm.

If Deffendall is successful in claiming a "stand your ground" defense, the charge of first-degree murder cannot be brought before a jury, and it would be dismissed.

However, Deffendall did not shed much light in the case by repeatedly claiming he could not remember critical details of the shooting.

Deffendall testified he and his brother fought frequently, but this time he said he feared for his life after they physically fought downstairs in their home, at 8545 De Havilland Court.

Both brothers previously had been arrested for DUI and battery and had frequently fought, "but this time it was different," Deffendall testified, because Eric Deffendall angrily followed him up the stairs after a fight downstairs.

Deffendall testified he feared for his life because his brother had not previously chased him up the stairs, where Mark Deffendall slept.

But Taylor asked Deffendall why he took the time to take a shower if he feared his brother would come upstairs and attack him.

"I don't recall," Deffendall testified Friday.

Deffendall said he grabbed his gun, a Russian 9 mm Makarov, because his brother also owned guns, but he admitted Eric Deffendall did not have a gun when he headed upstairs.

Under questioning by his lawyer, Assistant Public Defender Kiernan P. Moylan, Mark Deffendall said that before the shooting, the brothers fought in their Aerodome home after drinking and smoking cocaine.

Deffendall said "he (Eric Deffendall) grabbed me by the neck and slammed me over backward and started pummeling me. I had a gash in my head and my nose was busted."

Mark Deffendall was arrested at Indian River Medical Center in Vero Beach, where he had gone for treatment of cuts and bruises and an injury to his nose.

But Taylor asked Deffendall: "How big was the laceration? Does 1 centimeter sound correct? And your nose was not treated because your nose was not broken, correct?"

"I'm not sure," Deffendall replied.

Mark Deffendall testified he fired two shots as his brother was coming upstairs, but he does not know if he hit him as the victim retreated.

Prosecutors charged Deffendall with pursuing his brother into the living and dining rooms, shooting him four times.

"Was he facing down?" when Eric Deffendall was shot, Taylor asked.

"I don't recall," the defendant replied.

"What was going on in your mind when you shot your brother in the face point-blank?" Taylor asked.

"I don't remember," Deffendall replied.

"How many times did you shoot him downstairs?" Taylor asked.

"Are you asking me from my memory or from what I have read?" Deffendall said. "From my personal knowledge, I don't remember going into the living room."

Taylor asked Deffendall: "Do you know if you shot your brother at all?"

Deffendall's attorney called two witnesses who were boyhood friends of the Deffendalls and they recalled Eric Deffendall got the better of his brother in fights.

But one witness admitted he knew Eric Deffendall "in eighth grade."