Florida parking lot shooting: Should stand your ground laws apply to cases like this.

[farmplinker]

Most of us here are "smaller govt" types. That's a bit inconsistent with demanding that we defer on all comments when we see bad acts, and "let the police handle it". I'm not saying that you and your neighbor should form a posse and lynch the kid who drives too fast in front of your house, I'm saying that in a free society where the Left feels entitled to block traffic and smash statues and burn cars as their form of "speech", that maybe, just maybe, we're within our rights to say "hey, you're in a handicapped spot" now and then.

Again, I don't disagree. As I posted many pages back, saying "hey, you're in a handicapped spot" would take maybe five seconds, not 90 seconds like in the video. The former is acceptable, perhaps even desirable. I don't think the same applies to the latter.

[internet troll]

An Update:

https://www.tampabay.com/news/public...cide-20190425/

Is Clearwater parking lot shooter's history of gun threats relevant? A judge is set to decide.

CLEARWATER — A judge is set to hear arguments Friday over whether prosecutors can use prior confrontations involving road rage and gun threats in their case against Clearwater parking lot shooter Michael Drejka.

One encounter occurred last spring at the same Sunset Point Road convenience store where Drejka shot and killed 28-year-old Markeis McGlockton on July 19, according to a court document filed in October.

Like the McGlockton shooting, it started when Drejka confronted a driver over why he had parked in a handicap-reserved parking space without a placard, according to the driver's account. Drejka, who is white, used a racial slur against the driver, a black man, then threatened to shoot him.

The other incident, from January 2012, involved a dispute between Drejka and an 18-year-old motorist who stopped in front of him at a yellow light, according to a court document from November. Drejka honked at the man, then flashed a black handgun out the driver's side window, the document says. The incident was also documented in a Pinellas County Sheriff's Office report. Drejka told a deputy he yelled and honked but denied he pulled a gun, according to the report.

Drejka's defense team asked the judge to exclude both incidents, arguing in a motion that they're irrelevant and violate Drejka's due process rights. The defense also argued that the state didn't adequately prove Drejka was responsible for them.

The 1:30 p.m. hearing promises significant developments in a case that has drawn national attention. Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Joseph Bulone will decide whether the incidents are admissible. Drejka, 48, is scheduled to stand trial on a manslaughter charge in August.

The case set off a sweeping debate about self-defense. Sheriff Bob Gualtieri declined to arrest Drejka, saying Drejka's actions fell within the bounds of Florida's divisive stand your ground law.

Drejka told detectives he pulled the trigger in self-defense after McGlockton, who was black, shoved him to the ground as Drejka was arguing with McGlockton's girlfriend about why she had parked in a handicap space. Surveillance cameras at the Circle A Food Store captured the encounter.

Days before Drejka's Aug. 13 arrest, the Tampa Bay Times reported that he was accused as the aggressor in four incidents, including the two cited by prosecutors. The other two, documented in police reports, involved accusations that Drejka drove aggressively and showed a gun, which he denied at the time to a Largo police officer.

[Carnes]

This nation's justice system needs to reevaluate the concept of precedent. This appears to be an example of an asshole that needs to be addressed based on the individual circumstances. But, if he is convicted, it will set a precedent that is harmful to the vast majority of regular people.

That said, the shooter was assaulted by a visibly larger, stronger, and hostile individual. Self defense.

[GunLawyer001]

An Update:

https://www.tampabay.com/news/public...cide-20190425/

Is Clearwater parking lot shooter's history of gun threats relevant? A judge is set to decide.

CLEARWATER — A judge is set to hear arguments Friday over whether prosecutors can use prior confrontations involving road rage and gun threats in their case against Clearwater parking lot shooter Michael Drejka.

One encounter occurred last spring at the same Sunset Point Road convenience store where Drejka shot and killed 28-year-old Markeis McGlockton on July 19, according to a court document filed in October.

Like the McGlockton shooting, it started when Drejka confronted a driver over why he had parked in a handicap-reserved parking space without a placard, according to the driver's account. Drejka, who is white, used a racial slur against the driver, a black man, then threatened to shoot him.

The other incident, from January 2012, involved a dispute between Drejka and an 18-year-old motorist who stopped in front of him at a yellow light, according to a court document from November. Drejka honked at the man, then flashed a black handgun out the driver's side window, the document says. The incident was also documented in a Pinellas County Sheriff's Office report. Drejka told a deputy he yelled and honked but denied he pulled a gun, according to the report.

Drejka's defense team asked the judge to exclude both incidents, arguing in a motion that they're irrelevant and violate Drejka's due process rights. The defense also argued that the state didn't adequately prove Drejka was responsible for them.

The 1:30 p.m. hearing promises significant developments in a case that has drawn national attention. Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Joseph Bulone will decide whether the incidents are admissible. Drejka, 48, is scheduled to stand trial on a manslaughter charge in August.

The case set off a sweeping debate about self-defense. Sheriff Bob Gualtieri declined to arrest Drejka, saying Drejka's actions fell within the bounds of Florida's divisive stand your ground law.

Drejka told detectives he pulled the trigger in self-defense after McGlockton, who was black, shoved him to the ground as Drejka was arguing with McGlockton's girlfriend about why she had parked in a handicap space. Surveillance cameras at the Circle A Food Store captured the encounter.

Days before Drejka's Aug. 13 arrest, the Tampa Bay Times reported that he was accused as the aggressor in four incidents, including the two cited by prosecutors. The other two, documented in police reports, involved accusations that Drejka drove aggressively and showed a gun, which he denied at the time to a Largo police officer.

Notice that all allegations of white people doing bad things are treated as facts, not allegations? Notice that the headline is "his history of gun threats", not "prior allegations of gun threats"? That Drejka "used a racial slur" and not "the dead man's girlfriend who caused the incident said Drejka used a racial slur"?

This is bias. This is why no smart person trusts our "journalists" anymore.

[shagreobe]

I hate when people park in the handicapped spots and are able to walk unassisted but I never actually say anything to them. I think they are abusing the privilege because they are "special" and are "entitled" to the convenience or maybe they feel they are smarter than the dolts that didn't think to game the system and get a handicapped plate.
Getting shoved like that is an assault. There is no telling how much more abuse the attacker is getting ready to deal. Like I said, I avoid confrontation but I am thinking self defense but its a thin line to retaliation.

Coops..Not all disablities are visible!

[internet troll]

Another update

https://www.tampabay.com/news/public...oter-20190426/

Past gun threat allowed in trial of Clearwater parking lot shooter
Witnesses said Michael Drejka threatened a man with a gun in the same parking lot that, months later, authorities say he fatally shot Markeis McGlockton in during a similar confrontation.


LARGO — Prosecutors will be able to tell the jury in the manslaughter trial of Michael Drejka about the time he threatened to shoot man in an argument about a handicap parking space outside a Clearwater convenience store.

The circumstances of that Feb. 14, 2018 incident resemble the incident for which Drejka, 48, will stand trial: The July 19 shooting that killed 28-year-old Markeis McGlockton after they argued about the same handicap spot outside the same store.

Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Joseph Bulone called the incidents “amazingly similar” and said the earlier confrontation is fair game for the state to try and rebut Drejka’s argument that he fired in self-defense.

The defense prevailed in keeping another piece of their client’s past on the cutting room floor: A 2012 incident in which Drejka is accused of flashing a gun at a driver in front of him who stopped at a yellow light. Bulone ruled that prosecutors can only bring up that case if the defense first opens the door, such as referring to it during the trial.

Bulone also excluded a detail of the 2018 confrontation in which Richard Kelly, who is black, said Drejka, who is white, used a racial slur while speaking to him. McGlockton was also black, and race became a central issue in last year’s protests calling for Drejka’s arrest. Pinellas County’s sheriff at first declined to arrest Drejka, but prosecutors later filed charges.

The judge said “there’s really no evidence, frankly, that any of this had to do with race.”

The rulings dealt a blow to Drejka’s defense. His four-lawyer team argued both cases should be excluded because they were irrelevant and could mislead the jury.

But attorney John Trevena pointed out after the hearing that the defense came out victorious in Bulone's decision to leave out one of the prior cases and an inflammatory detail from the other case.

“Common sense is going to prevail in this case,” Trevena said.

Five witnesses testified during the hearing, including Kelly and two men who corroborated his Feb. 14, 2018 account.

Kelly told the court he had parked his work tanker truck in a handicap-reserved parking space at the Circle A Food Store on Sunset Point Road. Kelly, who works at a septic tank company blocks away, went inside to buy a soda. When he came back out, a man whom he later learned was Drejka was walking around the truck taking photos.

Kelly, 32, said he grew worried because he keeps cash from clients in the truck. He asked Drejka what he was doing.

Drejka asked him if he was disabled, and Kelly said no. The men started to argue, and Kelly told the court that Drejka got “very loud, like outrageous.”

Drejka then told him, “I should shoot you n-----,” Kelly said.

The store owner, Abdalla Salous, testified that he went outside that day to try to diffuse the argument. Kelly drove away. Salous told Drejka to knock it off or he would call the police.

“I told him it’s not worth it to fight for a stupid reason like that,” Salous said. “He said, ‘I can’t help it. I always get myself in trouble.’”

Pinellas-Pasco Assistant State Attorney Fred Schaub seized on that statement to cement his argument that the jury should hear about this confrontation when the case is set to go to trial in August.

“He knew better,” Schaub said. “Just like a kid in school who was told by his teacher, ‘Don’t do it anymore,’ he was told by the owner of this business, ‘Don’t do it anymore.’”

Later that day, Drejka called the owner of the septic tank business to complain about Kelly. Prosecutors furnished Drejka’s phone records, which corroborated the call.

Drejka told the business owner, John Tyler, that he was going to send the pictures of his employee’s parking job to the police. Then, Tyler testified, Drejka told him that he was lucky he didn’t shoot his driver, Kelly.

“I said ‘I’m sorry to hear you say that. I’m a gun owner. I carry legally,’” Tyler said. “‘And one of the first things you learn as a gun owner is to not put yourself in situations like that.’”

Bulone pointed out that Drejka’s mindset plays an important rule in his claim that he acted in self-defense.

In assessing that claim, one question jurors consider is whether another person would have done what Drejka did. The other is what was going through Drejka’s head that led him to pull the trigger?

“Is he a great guy enforcing the laws and protecting the disabled from people who violate the law?” the judge said. Or is he “a guy who also has a firearm and is … just begging to find an opportunity to use this thing?”

Contact Kathryn Varn at kvarn@tampabay.com or (727) 893-8913. Follow @kathrynvarn.

[JenniferG]

Hopefully this guy gets many years of protein enemas.

[Gun]

Hopefully this guy gets many years of protein enemas.

Maybe he will learn about A2M.

[internet troll]

This trial is getting ready to start .

https://www.tampabay.com/news/pinell...y-1-it-begins/

Trial in the Clearwater parking lot shooting, Day 1: It begins
Defendant Michael Drejka, center, looks over a list of potential jurors Monday in Pinellas Circuit Court with his attorneys Theresa Jean-Pierre Coy, right, and William Flores, left. Drejka is charged with manslaughter in the shooting death of Markeis McGlockton, 28, at a Circle A Food Mart in Clearwater in July 2018. [SCOTT KEELER | Times]
KATHRYN (1:28 p.m.)

We heard y’all have some questions. We have some answers.

Q: Why six jurors instead of 12?

A: Six jurors is the default in Florida. Juries are only 12 members when it’s a capital case, as in one with a penalty of death or life in prison.

Q: Did Britany Jacobs, Markeis McGlockton’s girlfriend, get a ticket for parking in the handicap-reserved space?

A: No.

Have more questions? Leave them in the comments, and Dan and I will get to them when we can. Thanks for following.

KATHRYN (12:39 p.m.)

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Twenty more jurors were struck. That brings us to a total of 31 gone. (We miscounted in the first round — sorry.)

And now the rest of us are breaking for lunch.

KATHRYN (12:34 p.m.)

We’re back in session. Ten jurors were excused over the break.

The judge is now going over hardships that might prevent a juror from sticking around, including physical disabilities and pressing professional or personal circumstances.

One juror said she just started taking seizure medication. A few others have family matters, transportation difficulties and work conflicts.

Your guide to watching the trial of Michael Drejka

Who’s who, timeline and links to complete coverage

Some specifics: A woman with a vitamin deficiency worried she can’t focus, a woman who was planning to visit a relative who has terminal lung cancer, an elementary school teacher (today is the fourth day of school), a woman who has a vacation starting Thursday who, when Judge Bulone asks if she would be able to focus on the case, answers, “Oh no. I’d be pissed.” Bulone asks her to use the word “disappointed” instead.

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To a University of South Florida student studying criminology, Bulone asks, “What better learning opportunity than this?”

Another prospective juror says he’s moving to Tennessee at the end of next week to work on a hemp farm. But he said he could stick around until the end of the trial and would do his best to concentrate while he was here.

That brought a little more clarity on the trial length.

“It’s not going to go beyond next week,” Judge Bulone says. “I’ll tell you that right now.”

Noon update: Potential jurors undergo questioning

Six people will decide whether Michael Drejka is guilty of manslaughter in the death of Markeis McGlockton.

On Monday morning, lawyers began the tedious task of determining whom those six should be.

They started with a pool of close to 100 Pinellas County residents, who crammed into the wooden benches inside the largest courtroom in the county’s criminal justice building.

They were introduced to the prosecutors and the four defense attorneys. They also met the defendant, who wore a gray jacket and tie and smiled politely as he stood before them.

Drejka, 49, will argue that he killed McGlockton, 28, in self-defense.

It happened the afternoon of July 19, 2018, outside the Circle A Food Store at 1201 Sunset Point Road, near Clearwater. Drejka got into an argument with McGlockton’s girlfriend, Britany Jacobs, over her parking in a handicap-reserved space.

In court Monday, Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Joseph Bulone explained that the case has received “some media attention,” and that the jurors cannot watch or read any news about the case while they’re fulfilling their service.

He asked if anyone had opinions, positive or negative regarding law enforcement, whether they would automatically believe or disbelieve a witness simply because he or she was a law enforcement officer.

A few hands went up.

“What strong feelings do you have?” the judge asked one man.

“Negative,” the man replied.

He says his opinion is based on personal experience and “things that have appeared in media.”

Another man said he has positive feelings about law enforcement, having worked for 38 years as a corrections officer, but that if a police officer takes the witness stand, he won’t automatically believe or disbelieve the testimony

The jurors were asked whether they had difficulty understanding English, whether they would be uncomfortable sitting for long periods of time.

One man told the judge that serving as a juror would “go against my personal conscience.”

Before noon, lawyers for both sides agreed to excuse the handful of jurors who voiced concerns or biases.

If convicted, Drejka could get 30 years in prison.

- Kathryn Varn

KATHRYN (11:38 a.m.)

Judge Bulone is giving jurors a 15-minute break, after one juror said they needed to use the restroom. The last half-hour consisted of questions about language barriers, hardships and feelings toward law enforcement.

He reminds them not to talk about or seek out information on the case. They shuffle out of the room. The judge and lawyers for each side begin striking jurors while they’re gone.

Strikes went mainly to prospective jurors who didn’t speak English well and those who had strong feelings about law enforcement they couldn’t overcome.

DAN AND KATHRYN (11:05 a.m.)

The prosecutors and defense attorneys introduce themselves.

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The defense introduces their client, Michael Drejka. He stands and smiles.

The judge asks if any of the jurors know any of the attorneys or the defendant. No one does.

The prosecutor, Fred Schaub, then reads the list of witnesses in the case. It is long. The jurors are asked if they know anyone on the list.

Schaub is starting with law enforcement witnesses. Notably, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri is not on that list. The sheriff made headlines after the shooting when he announced that he wouldn’t arrest Drejka because he acted within Florida’s stand your ground law. Prosecutors charged him with manslaughter a few weeks later.

The defense tried to list the sheriff as an expert witness, but the judge struck it down.

Judge Bulone asks if any of the jurors would automatically believe or disbelieve what a police officer says just because he or she is a police officer. One woman raises a hand and says she would not believe a police officer.

A man also raises his hand when the judge asks if the jurors have strong feelings about law enforcement.

“What strong feelings do you have?” the judge asks.

“Negative,” the man says.

He says his opinion is based on personal experience and things that have appeared in media.

In the back row, a man says he has positive feelings about law enforcement, having worked for 38 years as a corrections officer. But he says if a police officer takes the witness stand, he won’t automatically believe or disbelieve the testimony.

A few more jurors express strong feelings, both positive and negative, toward law enforcement. The judge talks with each witness about whether they can remove those feelings in assessing testimony from cops.

Three say they wouldn’t be able to, two who feel negatively and one who feels positively.

DAN (10:41 a.m.)

The judge tells the jurors they can’t watch or read any news about the case while they’re fulfilling their jury duty.

He asks which of the prospective jurors subscribes to the Tampa Bay Times. Six hands go up.

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Tells them not to read it during the trial. Other things he tells the jurors not to do: tweeting, emailing, discussing the case with other people.

KATHRYN (10:34 a.m.)

After some lessons in civic responsibility, Bulone reads the charging document to jurors. Read it, and Drejka’s arrest warrant, here.

DAN (10:30 a.m.)

The initial pool of 90 prospective jurors has crammed the benches in Courtroom 1. Judge Bulone has sworn them in.

The judge explains their duty. It is “an extraordinarily high duty,” he says. The judge explains that this is a manslaughter trial and that it has gotten “some media attention.”

“It’s very important that if you have any knowledge about the case … that you not blurt anything out in front of the other jurors,” he says.

The lawyers will choose six jurors, plus up to four alternates for the panel.

DAN AND KATHRYN (10:10 a.m.)

We’re back in session. Family members of Drejka and McGlockton will not be here today, say lawyers for each side. McGlockton’s family will attend later in the week when the trial starts.

Members of the jury pool begin to file in, some carrying bags, umbrellas, water bottles. A bailiff guides them to reserved rows in the gallery.

Lawyers switch their seats to face the gallery, where the prospective jurors are sitting.

Defendant Michael Drejka, right, steps out during a recess in the morning's proceedings. [SCOTT KEELER | Times]
Defendant Michael Drejka, right, steps out during a recess in the morning's proceedings. [SCOTT KEELER | Times]
KATHRYN (9:44 a.m.)

Bulone calls for a 15-minute break. Jury selection will begin after.

DAN (9:40 a.m.)

The judge asks Drejka if he agrees to his lawyers arguing that this was a case of self-defense. He speaks with one of his lawyers briefly, then says, “Yes.”

In a discussion about whether the jury will have the option of convicting Drejka of something less than manslaughter, the prosecutor says it will be ask for third-degree felony murder to be included as a lesser-included offense. The judge seems unsure that such a lesser-included offense might apply.

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Pinellas Pasco Circuit Court Judge Joseph Bulone answers lawyers' questions during the first day of the manslaughter trial of Michael Drejka. [SCOTT KEELER | Times]
Pinellas Pasco Circuit Court Judge Joseph Bulone answers lawyers' questions during the first day of the manslaughter trial of Michael Drejka. [SCOTT KEELER | Times]
KATHRYN (9:30 a.m.)

Bulone is going over several housekeeping points. One is that the defense listed an expert witness this morning. Schaub says he and Rosenwasser will need a chance to depose the expert, a toxicologist, and will likely need a hearing to discuss the limitations of the expert.

The defense didn’t list the expert earlier, Coy says, because it took three tries to get the cost of the expert approved in court, as is standard in cases with low-income defendants. She texted Rosenwasser on Sunday night to let him know.

“My response when Mr. Rosenwasser called me at midnight last night is, ‘Not surprised. This is par for the course,’” said Schaub, already throwing barbs.

Bulone gave the state the go-ahead to depose the witness and make time for a hearing.

KATHRYN (9:23 a.m.)

After a five-minute recess, Bulone takes the bench and turns his attention to the Drejka case. He is sitting at the defense table with his four lawyers: Coy, Flores, John Trevena and Bryant Camareno. Prosecutors Fred Schaub and Scott Rosenwasser are across the aisle.

A few people have taken seats in the gallery, but no sign of family members of Drejka or shooting victim, Markeis McGlockton.

Jury selection is in Courtroom 1. Schaub expresses concern that the courtroom in which the trial will take place, No. 7, is no longer big enough after the trial coverage media outlet Court TV set up equipment. Trevena seconds and asks if the trial can stay in No. 1 the whole time.

Bulone says they will stick to the plan for now and Courtroom 1 will be available for overflow seating with a video.

KATHRYN (8:30 a.m.)

Michael Drejka arrived in Courtroom 1, wearing a gray suit. He greeted two of his attorneys, William Flores and Theresa Jean-Pierre Coy.

Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Joseph Bulone convened court just after 8:30 a.m. He has a few other docket items to take care of before hearing Drejka’s case.

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Background

The manslaughter trial of Michael Drejka is set to begin Monday morning with jury selection.

Drejka, 49, is accused in the fatal shooting July 19, 2018, of 28-year-old Markeis McGlockton.

McGlockton stopped by the Circle A Food Store at 1201 Sunset Point Road near Clearwater at about 3:30 p.m. His girlfriend, Britany Jacobs, parked in a handicap-reserved spot outside the convenience store and waited in the car with two of the couple’s children — 4 months and 3 at the time. McGlockton, 28, went into the store with their third child, Markeis Jr., who was 5.

Drejka pulled into the parking lot and approached Jacobs. He asked Jacobs why she had parked in the spot if she didn’t have a handicap-designated plate or placard. The two started arguing. It escalated to the point that others in the parking lot started paying attention.

One of the witnesses entered the store and reported what was going on. McGlockton stepped back outside, walked up to Drejka and shoved him to the ground. Drejka pulled out a .40-caliber Glock handgun and shot McGlockton once in the chest. McGlockton was taken to Morton Plant Hospital and pronounced dead shortly after. The entire incident was caught on the store’s surveillance video.

Each day, our trial coverage team will live blog events straight from the courtroom.

[RockIsland]

I just want to know what a urinal cigar is.