MIAMI, Feb. 12 (UPI) -- Prosecutors in Miami have dropped a manslaughter charge against a man who killed his brother by pushing him during a drunken argument.
At a hearing Tuesday, Victor Luis's lawyers argued that Juan Carlos Luis's death was an "excusable homicide," the Miami Herald reported. They said Victor had no intention of killing or even hurting his brother and that it was simply bad luck that Juan Carlos fell backward and hit his head on a piece of concrete.
"Sometimes, accidents happen and horseplay escalate and that was the case here," lawyer Rick Hermida said.
A spokesman for the Miami-Dade state's attorney's office said prosecutors were unable to refute the defense argument.
The brothers got into an argument in July 2012 as they sat in a truck behind Spinnaker's Bar in North Miami Beach, listening to music. Victor was angry because Juan had not invited him on an outing to Gulfstream Park with friends earlier that day.
Victor Luis was charged with manslaughter after his brother died of his injuries 15 days later.
