2018 manslaughter in Clearwater, Florida
On July 19, 2018, Markeis McGlockton, 28, was fatally shot by Michael Drejka at a parking lot outside a local convenience store in Clearwater, Florida, United States. Shortly before the shooting, Drejka pulled in a spot not meant for parking and approached McGlockton's car to confront McGlockton's girlfriend for parking in a disabled parking space without a placard. McGlockton came out of the store to find Drejka screaming at his girlfriend and warned Drejka to back away from his vehicle. When that attempt was unsuccessful he then shoved Drejka to the ground. Drejka immediately drew his handgun and McGlockton began to back away. Five seconds after Drejka hit the ground, he shot McGlockton once. McGlockton later died from his injuries at a local hospital. He was unarmed at the time he was shot.
Drejka, a 47-year-old man, was not initially charged for the killing by the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, with Sheriff Bob Gualtieri citing Florida's stand-your-ground law as the reason. The investigation was then handed over to the Sixth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida State Attorney Bernie McCabe, who charged Drejka with one count of manslaughter on August 13, 2018. Drejka pleaded not guilty to the charge. His trial began on August 19, 2019. Drejka was convicted of manslaughter on August 23, 2019, and was sentenced to imprisonment for twenty years on October 10, 2019. The incident was widely reported by news media as another instance of Florida's stand-your-ground law, and generated significant attention and protests because Drejka was white and McGlockton was black with similarities to the killing of Trayvon Martin six years prior which generated international attention and debate.
Parties involved.
Markeis McGlockton.
Markeis Deon McGlockton (March 28, 1990 – July 19, 2018) grew up in Clearwater, Florida, and formerly lived in St. Petersburg. Within Pinellas County Schools, McGlockton attended middle school in St. Petersburg; and attended Boca Ciega High School but later dropped out.
In 2009, McGlockton met Britany Jacobs through a friend while she was a student at Dunedin High School. The couple had three children together during his lifetime. Jacobs publicly revealed her pregnancy with their fourth child in December 2018.
McGlockton used to work at Burger King. He later worked nights as a clerk at a 7-Eleven until his death. While Jacobs worked in the daytime as a certified nursing assistant, McGlockton was a stay-at-home dad for their children.
Michael Drejka.
Michael Andrew Drejka (born August 5, 1970) originally lived in Delaware. His father was a Delaware State Trooper. He had a concealed carry license. Drejka worked for Asplundh Tree Expert Company as a tree-trimmer and often performed cleanup work. He quit the tree-trimming business in 2007 and lived with his girlfriend Cara Lynne Brooks. In 2010, Drejka moved to Pinellas County, where he got married. He reported himself as retired.
Shooting.
On the afternoon of July 19, 2018, McGlockton picked up Jacobs from her employer with their three children in the vehicle, reportedly a 2016 Chrysler 200. Jacobs took over the wheel and drove the family to the Circle A Food Store so McGlockton could buy snacks for the children. Jacobs illegally parked the vehicle in the store's only handicapped parking space, located on the side of the building. McGlockton went into the store with their five-year-old son, Markeis Jr.
While Jacobs was sitting inside the vehicle, Drejka pulled up in his Toyota 4-Runner, also parking illegally, after having come from the Wawa on Missouri Ave in Largo. Drejka got out of his SUV and searched for a disabled parking placard on Jacobs' vehicle. Video surveillance shows Drejka starting a confrontation with Jacobs over the parking space. She had the other two children, aged three years and four months, seated in the car at the time. McGlockton had not yet finished checking out when he was told by another customer what was happening.
Around 3:30 pm, video surveillance shows McGlockton walked out of the store and walked up to Drejka and shoved him to the ground and kept walking towards him. Three seconds later, Drejka pulled out a .40-caliber Glock, which he steadied with both hands. McGlockton immediately backed up when confronted with the firearm. As McGlockton backed up to his vehicle he began to turn towards the front of the store and away from Drejka. Drejka then fired a single shot striking McGlockton in the left side of his chest almost under his armpit. After being shot, McGlockton ran back into the store and collapsed in front of his son. Paramedics arrived 19 minutes later and rushed McGlockton to Morton Plant Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 4:04 pm.
Location.
The shooting occurred at Circle A Food Store located on Sunset Point Road in Clearwater. The convenience store has been locally owned by Abdalla "Ali" Salous for twenty years. He was not present in the store at the time of the shooting. Salous previously had issues with Drejka at his business. Both Drejka and McGlockton were regular customers at the store. Salous said that Drejka came to his store daily to buy Monster drinks. A month after the shooting, Salous said the incident hurt the business, but added the public should not be afraid simply because of the assailant's actions. After Drejka was released from jail on bond, Salous stated that Drejka was banned from the property. Drejka was represented by criminal defense attorneys John Trevena and Bryant Camareno.
Investigations.
Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.
The incident took place in an unincorporated area of Clearwater, falling outside the local police department's jurisdiction; thus the investigation was conducted by the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, rather than the Clearwater Police Department.
Drejka questioned and released.
Following the shooting, Drejka reportedly put the gun in his SUV as he waited for law enforcement to arrive. Drejka cooperated with deputies on the scene, and was transported to the North District Station in nearby Dunedin, Florida, for further questioning by detectives. Deputies took possession of his gun.
While being questioned by detectives, Drejka stated that he was in fear of physical harm and had acted in self-defense when he shot McGlockton. He claimed that they did not exchange words with each other and that he thought McGlockton had stepped toward him before he fired his gun. Drejka said he would not have shot at McGlockton if he had stayed still or retreated. Drejka was asked to re-enact the incident, with a detective filling in for McGlockton.
Drejka told detectives that he had carried a gun since the age of 22. He revealed that the gun he used to shoot McGlockton formerly belonged to a Delaware police officer. The interview lasted six hours.
Gualtieri cites stand-your-ground.
On July 20, 2018, the day after the shooting, Sheriff Bob Gualtieri held a 30-minute press conference in which he announced that his agency would not charge Drejka for the shooting death of McGlockton. At the press conference, Gualtieri walked through the events leading up to the shooting and revealed the surveillance video to the media. He started by saying "I'm a big believer in this adage that just because you can, doesn't mean you should. This case may be an example of that. Nonetheless, we don't build it, we just sail it. What I mean by that is: I don't make the law, I enforce the law." Gualtieri cited Florida Statute 776.032 and stated that his office was precluded from making an arrest, due to Drejka's claim of self-defense through Florida's stand-your-ground law. Gualtieri said the investigation would continue before being turned over to the local state attorney's office.
In a second 55-minute press conference on July 31, Gualtieri defended his decision not to arrest Drejka. The Pinellas County Ministerial Alliance and NAACP Clearwater were scheduled to stand with Gualtieri during this press conference, but backed out a half hour before it began.
State Attorney's investigation.
On August 1, 2018, Sheriff Gualtieri announced that the investigation had been turned over to State Attorney Bernie McCabe for review. The following day, McCabe said there was no time frame for how long it would take to complete the investigation.
On August 10, Detective George Moffett sent a "capias" request to State Attorney McCabe recommending charges of manslaughter with a firearm against Drejka. Moffett cited three drivers who alleged that Drejka threatened them with a gun in past incidents. Drejka was formally charged with a single count of manslaughter on August 13. Drejka pleaded not guilty to the charge on August 17.
Witness accounts.
A man who witnessed the argument between Drejka and Jacobs walked into the store to report it, which led to McGlockton confronting Drejka. After McGlockton was shot, deputies interviewed multiple witnesses at the scene. Two 9-1-1 calls from witnesses were released by the Pinellas County Regional 911 Center on August 16. There were over 100 witnesses in the case.
Britany Jacobs.
Jacobs was a major eyewitness in the case. She explained her decision to park her vehicle in the handicapped space; although video surveillance shows there were other spaces available, Jacobs told prosecutors that two pickup trucks blocked her from accessing those spaces. Jacobs claimed that Drejka began yelling and motioning at her. Jacobs said that she told Drejka to mind his own business. According to Jacobs, McGlockton told Drejka to "stay away from my girl" as he flung Drejka to the ground. When McGlockton was shot, she attempted to apply pressure to his wound with a shirt. Jacobs claimed the bullet struck McGlockton in the left side of the abdomen, contrary to Sheriff Gualtieri's account that he was shot in the chest.
Drejka's account of events.
Within a day of the shooting, Drejka had a sign posted outside his home that read: "NO COMMENT". Drejka refused to speak to the press for over a month following the shooting; until late-August his only public account of events came from statements he made while being questioned by detectives.
First media interview.
On August 31, 2018, Drejka sat down with WTSP reporter Reginald Roundtree for a jailhouse interview. Early in the interview, Drejka spoke about his early life and work profession; the financial and physical hardships he and his wife were facing; and threats made to them immediately after the shooting. Regarding McGlockton's shove, Drejka said he thought he was "tackled". Drejka stated he was in fear for his life and felt that he followed the stand-your-ground law.
Drejka said abuse of handicapped parking spaces is a sensitive issue to him, as his mother-in-law and deceased high school girlfriend were handicapped. Drejka denied he was a racist. While Drejka would not change his actions, he did apologize for the results of actions to McGlockton's family.
Drejka's wife was subsequently interviewed by Roundtree, with her face hidden by a gray curtain to protect her identity.
Public response.
Activism and protests.
The first protest related to the shooting occurred on July 21 at the Circle A Food Store.
A vigil for McGlockton was held at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church the following afternoon, followed by a mass march from the church to the Circle A that evening.
On July 25, community activists held a fish fry at Circle A to raise money for McGlockton's family. On the morning of July 27, a protest was staged at State Attorney Bernie McCabe's office. An activist group in Jacksonville held a vigil for McGlockton and other victims of gun violence at the John A. Delaney Student Union later that night.
On July 29, members of Allendale United Methodist Church in St. Petersburg created a prayer circle in the middle of a busy intersection to protest the shooting.
On August 5, Al Sharpton and Benjamin Crump led the Markeis McGlockton Rally for Justice at St. John Primitive Baptist Church. The Tampa chapter of Black Lives Matter organized a rally outside the church that was held at the same time. On September 19, a vigil was held at Wright Park in Clearwater. Supporters gathered with McGlockton's family and friends at the same park to celebrate what would have been Markeis's 29th birthday. On the one-year anniversary of McGlockton's death anniversary, a memorial and vigil titled Justice for Markeis: A Legacy Never Forgotten was held at Mt. Zion United Methodist Church.
Color of Change created an online petition directed to State Attorney McCabe, calling for the arrest of Michael Drejka. The petition received over 10,000 signatures by July 25, and had reached over 45,000 signatures when Drejka was charged with manslaughter on August 13. On July 31, the organization opened a state-level political action committee as part of an effort to repeal Stand-Your-Ground