Hearing date set for Ludwig Kaiser’s motion to dismiss battery case
It’s still a couple of months away, but a hearing date has been set regarding Ludwig Kaiser’s motion to dismiss his battery case.
Court records show that a Monday, October 19 hearing has been scheduled, where the defense will bring forward their motion to dismiss the misdemeanor battery charge Kaiser (real name Marcel Barthel) is facing. The defense made a filing yesterday (July 28) notifying Assistant State Attorney Shaylynne Kotch of the hearing date.
Kaiser’s motion to dismiss was filed earlier this month and uses Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law to claim that he was justified in using the amount of force he used in the incident against alleged victim Richard Reap. Under the law, someone can use non-deadly force if they reasonably believe it to be necessary to protect themself or someone else against “imminent use of unlawful force.”
The battery case stems from an April 23 incident between Kaiser and another resident of the Orlando, Florida apartment complex he was living at. According to Reap, Kaiser and his girlfriend Andrea Bazarte were aggressively kissing while the three of them shared an elevator. When Reap told them to “please have some manners,” Kaiser attacked him.
Kaiser’s side of the story says he and Bazarte were hugging in the elevator, and Reap swore at them when telling them to have some respect. Reap then allegedly called Bazarte a “bitch” and made a racist remark about calling ICE on her. Kaiser admits to pushing Reap but claims he only did so after Reap aggressively came toward him and threatened him. Kaiser also says that Reap threw a soft drink bottle at him, but Kaiser did not retaliate and left the area with Bazarte before things could escalate further.
If the case were to ever go to trial, surveillance video from the apartment complex would be key evidence. The original arrest report said police viewed the video and saw Reap being punched and pushed. Police also saw a scratch on Reap’s head in person.
Second pre-trial conference set —
A plea agreement could potentially be reached before this October 19 hearing happens. The prosecution and defense are scheduled to meet for their second pre-trial conference on August 27. At the first conference this month, Kaiser was not present, but he agreed to waive his right to a speedy trial, pushing things back from what originally would have been an August trial period.
Kaiser, as El Grande Americano, is a huge babyface for Lucha Libre AAA and will be challenging Dominik Mysterio for the Mega Championship at Triplemania this September.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.