Video shows deadly shooting over parking spot at Clearwater convenience store

ABC Action News ^ | 7/23/2018 | WFTS Webteam, Michael Paluska, Adam Winer

[simpson96]

CLEARWATER, Fla. — Hundreds from around Tampa Bay marched with the family of the Clearwater man fatally shot over a parking spot.

Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri says the shooting was justified under Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law. The deadly shooting at a convenience store in unincorporated Clearwater occurred Thursday.

Sgt. Spencer Gross of the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office tells ABC Action News the shooting stemmed from an argument over a parking spot.

Deputies said Michael Drejka, of Clearwater, confronted a woman who parked in a handicapped parking space outside the Circle A Food Store on Sunset Point Road.

Witnesses told deputies the two were arguing because Drejka was upset the woman parked there even though she wasn't handicapped. The woman's boyfriend, Markeis McGlockton, of Clearwater, was inside the store to buy his little boy a candy bar, according to the store owner.

McGlockton exited the store to defend his girlfriend and shoved Drejka to the ground.

Drejka responded by taking out a pistol and shooting McGlockton in the chest. McGlockton ran back into the store where his five-year-old son was standing at the front door, watching the entire incident happen right before his eyes. McGlockton fell to the ground inside of the store and he was pronounced dead at a local hospital.

Investigators say multiple people witnessed the shooting and called 911.

Drejka is a legal concealed weapons permit holder and will not be charged because of Florida's Stand Your Ground law, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.

[Two Kids' Dad]

In some stories there are no heroes, no good guys.

[1Old Pro]

Keeping the 21 foot rule in mind, the aggressor was well within range to continue his assault at his discretion. Drawing his weapon and hesitating would have provided an opportunity to aggressor disarm the victim of the assault.

Yep, very true, only takes a second to rush the guy again and finish him off with his fist or a knife.

[kiryandil]

Had the boyfriend just told the shooter off and flipped him the middle finger while driving off, he’d be enjoying life today laughing about the A-hole in the parking lot.

Don't be so sure about that.

That there is a "confrontational offense" in Drejka's Interesting Little World.

And in 2012, Tyler Smith, 18, accused a driver later identified as Drejka of hanging a gun outside of his truck window during a road rage incident in Palm Harbor, northwest of Tampa, according to law enforcement documents obtained by NBC News.

Smith, whose account was corroborated by his passenger, told a Pinellas County sheriff’s deputy that Drejka began yelling and honking at him when he stopped at a yellow traffic light, the documents say.

Smith said Drejka then dangled a black handgun from his driver’s side window and placed two magazines on his truck’s dashboard. After Drejka followed the car, the passenger told the deputy, Smith called the sheriff’s office to report him — though he didn’t want to press charges, according to the documents.

During an interview with deputies, Drejka said he’d yelled at Smith and honked his horn after the car cut him off, the documents say. Drejka denied following the vehicle or displaying a Glock that he kept in his truck’s center console.

No charges were filed in the case and the documents say Drejka’s concealed weapon’s license was valid.

[DoodleDawg]

I agree. CCW holders should have a course in de-escalation, and non confrontational encounters.

Many states no longer require training of any kind to carry a firearm. It'd be hard to retroactively require some now.

[PA-RIVER]

Looking at the video, that was one heavy handed knock down. The guy hits the ground hard.

When you hit to the ground that hard, not knowing its coming, you get a bit disoriented and a bit in shock, the guy didn’t see it coming. You get scared, big time.

Then look at the flip of the gun after the shot goes off.

The attacker may not have turned to exit the fight until after the shot was fired. But really, the fight was on after the initial assault. Asking someone to move their car shouldn’t have you on the ground, waiting for a kick in the face to knock your teeth out.

[Mr Rogers]

I’ll say this: It is extremely unlikely I’d pull a gun and shoot someone for shoving me to the ground! I might PULL a gun in case the other guy was planning on following it up with more, but I don’t see a reasonable belief that the shooter’s life was in danger (nor serious physical harm).

At a guess...I’d charge the guy.

[Georgia Girl 2]

Would you feel better about it if the guy violently thrown to the ground had hit his head and had a massive brain bleed? Because when you start knocking people around you don’t know what may transpire.

[nickedknack]

No heroes in this story. Law breaking, violent feral vs. hotheaded white guy with a CCW permit and a history of confrontation. The tiebreaker goes to the white guy because of the violent assault by the feral and the likelihood the white guy was going to be further assaulted had he not dispatched the animal. Only upside is no more baby mamas being inseminated by the sperm donor.

[OrangeHoof]

IMO, the fault lies with handicap parking ordinances. Discriminating parking spots for “the privileged” is why there was an argument to start with.

This whole scene is so unfortunate but it does not happen if every parking spot is considered free and equal.

[Mr Rogers]

Proportional response means if I’ve been shoved to the ground without serious injury, and there is no attempt to follow up the attack, then I need to call the cops and report an assault. Arizona law doesn’t allow me to shoot someone in revenge for them knocking me down.

The threat needs to be ongoing for me to legally take action.

Flip side, the black guy committed a crime. But it looked to me like a past tense crime - commitTED.

[freedumb2003]

I was very small when I was young and was physically bullied a lot. It made me stronger and taught me to fight back when odds were against me. It also taught me bullies are generally cowards but WILL beat you up if they are bigger.

So I have a HUGE resentment for bullies and when I see one get taken down — even all the way as in this case — I can only feel satisfied.

In general I don’t buy that “boo hoo hoo my childhood made me like I am” but that doesn’t mean we don’t bring impressions forward.

[rcofdayton]

Shoving someone to the ground can have fatal consequences if they land on their heard. It can also cause bone fractures. In other words, there is the potential for death or serious bodily injury. That justifies the use of deadly force. Please the man was on the ground.

[kiryandil]

Asking someone to move their car shouldn’t have you on the ground, waiting for a kick in the face to knock your teeth out.

I totally agree. What was the woman doing parked in Drejka's mom's personal handicapped spot, I wonder?   

[In an incident over the same parking spot weeks before] Kelly, who drives a septic tank, briefly parked his tanker in this handicapped spot outside the Circle A Food Store before running inside this store for a beverage. When he came out, he saw Drejka taking pictures of his vehicle.

"He asked me (if) was I handicapped, and I said, 'Obviously, I'm driving a tanker. I'm not handicapped.' And I asked if was he handicapped and he stated 'No, my mom is,'" Kelly said.

================

Drejka was totally justified.

[freedumb2003]

That is why I retracted it when I saw the video.

I guess I am the first person on FR to ever post before reading the article ad seeing the associated video LOL.

Ah FR. Post in haste, repent in leisure :)

[Cletus.D.Yokel]

Damn!

A parking lot busy-body gets away with “shooting while virtue signaling”.

I hate the concept of HC parking spaces but, I really don’t care who parks in them.

[Fhios]

Reminds me of a very important question regarding Gun Rights and stand your grounds law

If a person who is obviously bigger and stronger than you gets into a fight with you and he say’s “I’m going to kill you” are you ready to pull your gun and shoot him?

[BlackbirdSST]

The threat needs to be ongoing for me to legally take action.

Yep, everyone knows a good curb stomp helps your aim! These ferals are going to learn to live in a civilized manner or they will no longer be a part of our society.

[kiryandil]

Drejka should have pistol-whipped and shot the baby-momma, too, for parking in his mom's handicapped parking spot.

It would have been totally justified.

And the kids, since they would have been orphans.

[Mr Rogers]

I’m not going to shed tears of this guy dying. You go around beating people up, you take your chances. But the shooter started a confrontation, was not injured, and the black guy wasn’t actively attacking. Looks more like a shooting in revenge rather than self-defense.

Nothing to do with “Stand your ground”. Stand your ground says you don’t need to flee from an attack. It doesn’t say you get to shoot after an attack has ended.

[Mr Rogers]

“That justifies the use of deadly force.”

NOT if the attack has ended!