Records show road rage, gun threats in stand your ground shooter's past

[demmiblue]

The Clearwater man who shot and killed a father of three outside a convenience store in a parking dispute last month — setting off a stand your ground debate that has swept Florida and the nation — has a history of road rage.

Since 2012, according to records and interviews, 47-year-old Michael Drejka has been the accused aggressor in four incidents. Investigators documented three cases in police reports.

The other was not shared with authorities at the time but involved the same handicap-reserved parking spot outside the Circle A Food Store near Clearwater and another shooting threat.

Two involved allegations of Drejka showing a gun. In another, a trooper accused him of aggressive driving and cited him after a crash when Drejka braked hard in front of a woman driving with two children.

https://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/Records-show-road-rage-gun-threats-in-stand-your-ground-shooter-s-past_170719109

[gratuitous]

1. And the law can't touch him

I was surprised to find out that Oregon's stand your ground law is every bit as stupid as Florida's, though we don't have nearly the trouble with armed nutcases. Though that may be a function of the fact that Florida's population is 10 times as dense as Oregon's.

[hlthe2b]

2. Apparently, it CAN... FL "stand your ground" shooter charged with manslaughter

https://abcnews.go.com/US/shooter-florida-stand-ground-case-charged-manslaughter/story?id=57151343

Drejka was booked at the Pinellas County Jail and bond was set at $100,000. It was unclear if he had a lawyer and he has declined comment in the past.

Bernie McCabe, the state attorney for Pinellas County, announced his decision to file charges against Drejka 12 days after receiving investigative reports on the case from the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.

Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri had initially declined to arrest Drejka after the gunman invoked the "stand your ground" defense, saying his decision was bound by the law.

[gratuitous]

3. Color me shocked

We'll see if the Pinellas County State Attorney can make a case against Drejka that gets around Florida's law. The burden of proof is on the prosecutor, not Drejka, to prove that he wasn't in fear for his life when he plugged his victim. And they can't compel Drejka to testify against himself, so it's a real uphill battle to conviction as long as Drejka sticks to his guns.

[ManiacJoe]

6. Store video...

... clearly shows this was not a legal self defense.

[gratuitous]

8. 11 more like you, and he goes to jail

But unfortunately, Drejka's defense counsel (probably paid for out of the NRA coffers) just has to convince one juror in the box that Drejka was justifiably afraid for his life after the big, mean, black man pushed him down. Why if poor Michael didn't happen to have his trusty shootin' arn handy, there's no telling what might have ensued. One juror who sees the world like Michael Drejka sees it, and Drejka walks free.

[brush]

7. Guess you don't know there's a video of the shooting.

The victim is shown pushing the murderer away from his wife. In other words, he was a man protecting his wife from an aggressive man.

Once he did that he stood back and did not do anything further to the murderer. The killer then pulled out his gun and shot the man who was had backed off and was just standing there.

Why do you think the prosecutor over-ruled the sheriff and had the killer arrested?

[demmiblue]

5. Thanks for adding that.

Good news!

[Initech]

11. Stand Your Ground is a truly fucking evil concept.

Fuck ALEC!!!

[samir.g]

4. have fun standing your ground in prison

[Corgigal]

9. So he was looking for someone to shoot.

It would have happened sooner or later, congratulations Florida.

[maxsolomon]

10. Everyone gets frustrated in traffic, but only Gun Owners shoot people over it.

If you don't have a gun, you can't shoot anyone.