Ludwig Kaiser is heading back to court today, and his girlfriend is officially being brought into the mix as his legal team fights to get his battery charge thrown out.
Ringside News has obtained a new court filing submitted Monday morning, October 19, revealing that Kaiser’s attorney, Thomas D. Sommerville, filed a defense witness list naming Andrea Martinez Bazarte. The paperwork was submitted at 9:44 AM, just hours before Kaiser’s scheduled 1:30 PM hearing in Orlando.
And that’s a pretty interesting development, considering Bazarte was right there when the confrontation that landed Kaiser in legal trouble went down.
As previously covered, Kaiser, whose real name is Marcel Barthel, was arrested in May following an April 23 incident involving Richard Reap at his Orlando apartment complex. Reap claims Kaiser punched and pushed him following an argument inside an elevator, but Kaiser’s legal team says there’s a whole lot more to the story.
According to the defense, Reap became aggressive, used offensive language and even threatened to call Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Bazarte. Kaiser admits he pushed Reap but insists he was protecting himself and his girlfriend because he believed Reap was about to attack them.
Now, with Bazarte officially listed as a defense witness, she could have plenty to say about what really happened that day. The filing doesn’t confirm whether she’ll testify at today’s hearing, but her name appearing on the witness list just hours before court is certainly worth watching.
Kaiser’s attorneys are asking the judge to dismiss the misdemeanor battery charge entirely, arguing that his actions were protected under Florida’s Stand Your Ground law. Meanwhile, Reap recently had another attorney formally enter the case on his behalf, so there’s been plenty of last-minute legal activity leading up to today’s proceedings.
The hearing is scheduled to begin at 1:30 PM, and Ringside News will be keeping an eye on what happens inside that Orlando courtroom. With Kaiser’s girlfriend now officially named as a defense witness, this case could be getting a whole lot more interesting.
Do you think Andrea Bazarte’s account could help Kaiser get his battery charge dismissed, or will the surveillance footage be the deciding factor? Drop your thoughts in the comments below.
