Michael Drejka sentencing tomorrow

applecruncher

applecruncher

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Ohio USA
(Handicapped parking space killing in Florida)

I don't know the time of the hearing, but it'll be interesting.
Drejka's atty filed a motion for a new trial - don't know if that will affect the scheduled sentencing.

 

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How about a new, Mind Your Own Business law. People need to stop making a big deal out of stuff that doesn't directly affect them. There are plenty of harassing goofs giving handicapped people a hard time because they don't look handicapped enough to park in these spaces. It is not their place to judge. MYOB. You are not always right, surprising as it may sound. It really grinds my gears the way some people take liberties to the extreme. Gah!
 
Trade said:
I'm glad to see this.

It's too bad that Amber Guyger didn't get the same.
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Police officers are never sentenced to anywhere near the time non officers are.
And, I doubt Drejka will end up serving more an 3-4 years....& that's only if his conviction isn't thrown out, which it may be.
 
win231 said:
Police officers are never sentenced to anywhere near the time non officers are.
And, I doubt Drejka will end up serving more an 3-4 years....& that's only if his conviction isn't thrown out, which it may be.
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I think Florida laws state that a sentenced felon must serve 85% of his sentence before being considered for parole.
 
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-new...-man-parking-space-dispute-sentenced-n1064626
So Drejka parked illegally and then went and got in someone's face for parking illegally.:ROFLMAO: I know. This is tragic. But I can't help laughing at that one.

Circuit Judge Joseph Bulone said that the defense showed the jury that Drejka was a "wannabe law enforcement officer" who made a hobby out of monitoring the parking spot at the Clearwater Circle A Food Store.

When the store's owner asked him to stop acting as a keeper of the space, which was "not even the best space in the whole parking lot," because it was leading to altercations, he simply started bringing a gun with him, Bulone said.

"The jury found that the defendant did not act reasonably or responsibly," Bulone said before handing down the sentence. He added that, to him, the "most ironic thing about this case" was that Drejka had parked illegally to scold someone for parking illegally.

Drejka had approached McGlockton's car to see if it had the correct decal for a handicapped space and subsequently got into an argument with McGlockton's girlfriend, Britany Jacobs, who was in the car with two of their children while McGlockton was inside the store with their third child.

When McGlockton came out of the store and saw what was going on, he shoved Drejka to the ground, surveillance footage showed. Drejka then pulled out his gun and shot McGlockton, the footage showed.

McGlockton was unarmed, and video surveillance and autopsy results indicated he was turning away from Drejka when he was shot.

Prosecutors said that Drejka started the altercation by confronting Jacobs because she was parked with her children in the handicapped space. They said Drejka had no reason to fire as McGlockton was retreating.
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State Appellate Courts can and do surprise, even shock us at times. I don’t pretend to be an authority or courts and I would hate to make a wager on which way this one will go. Just by looking at the video, most of us would say that the jury got it right. But, how the Appellate Court interprets Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law could surprise all of us. Let’s hope not.

I will go out on a limb and say that if the Florida Appellate Court upholds the verdict, I would be surprised if the Federal Appeals Court would overturn the State Appellate Court’s decision to let the verdict stand. Federal Appeals Courts do not overturn State Appeals court’s decisions too easily.
 
911 said:
State Appellate Courts can and do surprise, even shock us at times. I don’t pretend to be an authority or courts and I would hate to make a wager on which way this one will go. Just by looking at the video, most of us would say that the jury got it right. But, how the Appellate Court interprets Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law could surprise all of us. Let’s hope not.

I will go out on a limb and say that if the Florida Appellate Court upholds the verdict, I would be surprised if the Federal Appeals Court would overturn the State Appellate Court’s decision to let the verdict stand. Federal Appeals Courts do not overturn State Appeals court’s decisions too easily.
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Here, it takes a bit to get a criminal conviction overturned. Appellate courts will not reject the verdict of a jury unless they find that there was some error in the trial itself that affected the outcome or that there wasn't adequate evidence to support the jury's verdict, which is a pretty low bar. Our appellate court won't rethink the jury's weighing of the evidence, so in a "could go either way" situation they won't overturn the verdict. Lots of people think you can bring in new evidence on direct appeal, but here, at least, that's not true. The appellate court can only review what was presented at the original trial, and they cannot go beyond the trial transcripts, the pleadings, and the exhibits. An appeal is not a new trial, it is judicial review of the original trial.
 
Maybe this will help the parking lot vigilantes to take a deep breath and consider what they are really so angry about. If a person without a handicapped sticker, who looks hale and hearty, parks in a handicapped space, what's the big deal? This might be cause for mild annoyance, hardly enough for murderous rage. Drekja clearly was just itching to pull that trigger. And what's become of the rule of law in this country? Since when are we justified in going around shooting each other, like little kids playing cops and robbers?
 
Trade said:
The video clearly shows McGlockton taking at least 2 full steps backward before Drejka shoots him. A clear cut case of murder.
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Drejka doesn't appear to be physically capable of defending himself from being attacked and pushed to the ground. The stepping back could be viewed like that. But with no sound to know what was said how can anyone be certain re positioning to do further harm wasn't the intent?

The justice system works, so if there is appeal by Drejka maybe Applecruncher will keep us informed.
 
Knight said:
Drejka doesn't appear to be physically capable of defending himself from being attacked and pushed to the ground. The stepping back could be viewed like that. But with no sound to know what was said how can anyone be certain re positioning to do further harm wasn't the intent?
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It's plain as day that McGlockton is backing away as soon as he sees the gun. If you don't see that it's because you don't want to.

As for Drejka, he was real brave when he was confronting a woman with small kids. But when it came to facing a man he "wasn't physically capable of defending himself"

He'd better toughen up some when he gets to prison because they are not going to let him have a gun there.
 
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Trade said:
It's plain as day that McGlockton is backing away as soon as he sees the gun. If you don't see that it's because you don't want to.

As for Drejka, he was real brave when he was confronting a woman with small kids. But when it came to facing a man he "wasn't physically capable of defending himself"

He'd better toughen up some when he gets to prison because they are not going to let him have a gun there.
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If you don't see the physical attack by McGlockton it's because you don't want to. IMO he [Drejka] had every right to stand his ground. As Knight said, we have no idea what was said , or what threat Drejka felt.
 
rgp said:
If you don't see the physical attack by McGlockton it's because you don't want to. IMO he [Drejka] had every right to stand his ground. As Knight said, we have no idea what was said , or what threat Drejka felt.
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We all can see McGlockton attack Drejka. We can also see Drejka pull a gun on him. And we can also see McGlockton backing away from Drejka when he sees the gun. The show of the gun was all that was needed to remove the threat. The shooting was totally unnecessary.

I'd like to ask you another question RPG. What kind of man gets in the face of a woman with small kids? Over a freakin parking place for Christ sake? I can't imagine a scenario where I would do such a thing. Would you?
 


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