The Stand Your Ground shooter on trial for manslaughter for shooting dead an unarmed black man in a row over a parking spot in 2018 told police he pulled the trigger because he feared he would be injured if he didn’t.
Michael Drejka is on trial for the death of Markeis McGlockton, an unarmed black 28-year-old who he shot dead in May 2018.
Drejka, 49, had been arguing with McGlockton’s girlfriend for parking in a disabled spot outside a food store in Clearwater, Florida. He did not have anyone in his vehicle and is not disabled himself but he said seeing people abusing handicap spots upset him.
When McGlockton emerged from the store, he pushed Drejka over. Drejka reached for his weapon and shot him in the chest, killing him.
Michael Drejka is on trial for the death of Markeis McGlockton, an unarmed black 28-year-old who he shot dead in May 2018. Drejka is pictured on Thursday
Now, he is on trial for manslaughter.
He claims that he was acting in self-defense and that Florida’s Stand Your Ground law should protect him.
Drejka, 49, shot and killed Markeis McGlockton, 28, in July 2018 in an argument over a parking spot
On Thursday, the second day of his trial, the state called witnesses including the detectives who interviewed Drejka after the shooting.
Prosecutors also played a video of his interview where he told the cops: ‘I shoot to save my own a**. And that’s that.’
Elsewhere in the interview he said he thought McGlockton was going to kick him.
‘As I come out I start drawing my weapon. As I start leveling off my weapon, he makes his next step towards me and 21-foot rule.
‘It happened so fast and that was that. …I thought kicks were coming or at least he’d be on top of me.
‘I’m thinking he’s coming to do the rest of it… whatever beating was coming after that. If he’s gonna hit me that hard to begin with from blindside from the get-go, what else should I expect?
Drejka is shown lying on the floor during his police interview, reenacting shooting the victim
This is the moment Drejka shot the unarmed black man after he had pushed him to the ground
‘He barely made the second step before I pulled the trigger.
At one point in the hour long interview, Drejka got on the ground and mimicked how he’d shot McGlockton.
‘It happened so fast and that was that. …I thought kicks were coming or at least he’d be on top of me.
He said that even though McGlockton was unarmed, he did not know that and that he thought his life was in danger.
Drejka said he feared he was going to ‘finish what he started’ when he pushed him over and that he was trying to preempt it.
The shooting was captured on surveillance videos outside the store. The footage shows McGlockton edging away from Drejka when he was shot.
When the detective told Drejka that instead of approaching him, he was backing away, Drejka said he ‘disagreed’.
Drejka said nothing throughout the proceedings but took notes, as he did during the first day of the trial
The detectives found it unusual that Drejka knew so much about the 21ft rule – a term invoked by law enforcement which refer the distance a suspect can travel towards an officer by the time they have identified a threat and pulled their weapon.
There was also testimony from a police trainer who was familiar with the 21ft rule.
He said the Drejka was wrong to invoke it and said it did not apply in his case.
Among other witnesses was Noel Palma, the medical examiner who performed an autopsy on the victim’s body.
The bullet traveled through his left lung and pierced his heart and right lung, causing him to die ‘pretty quickly’.
Dr. Noel Palma, the medical examiner who looked at McGlockton’s body, testified that the bullet pierced his lungs and heart
Other state witnesses included a doctor who determined McGlockton had ecstasy in his system at the time of his death.
On Wednesday, the dead man’s girlfriend, who witnessed his death with her children in the back of her car, said she remembered thinking that she wanted Drejka to leave her and ‘her babies alone’.
There was also testimony from a different black motorist who Drejka threatened to shoot for parking in the same disabled spot four months before McGlockton’s death.
In the last two days, the state has called 17 witnesses.
Drejka has not spoken nor has he given any strong reaction to any of the testimony.
He took notes throughout the first and second day. In their opening arguments, his attorney said he thought there was a genuine threat so should not be found guilty.
Britany Jacobs, 26, spoke publicly for the first time about the circumstances leading up to the death of her long-term boyfriend, Markeis McGlockton, 28, at the Clearwater convenience store parking lot on July 19, 2018
The first trial witness was Rich Kelly who said Drejka threatened to shoot him for parking in the same spot four months earlier