TAMPA, Fla. — Regular visitors to a Hillsborough County dog park are concerned the sheriff’s office has not filed charges against a man who fatally shot their friend last Friday.
They are now sharing videos their friend made hours before the shooting.
The I-Team spoke to them about encounters they witnessed before last Friday’s tragic event.
In Focus:
- “You’re gonna die”
- Shooter claims self-defense
- Victim’s friends say shooter shouted anti-gay insults
- “There is no danger to the public”
“You’re gonna die”
“This is part of my video diary that I'm sending to you because the police told me to do this. I’m trying not to call the police,” Walter Lay said in a video he sent to his friend the day before his death.
Lay, 52, had been complaining to his friends about harassment from another dog owner at West Dog Park for months. That other person was Gerald Declan Radford, who goes by the nickname “Dec."
“It's just been escalating and escalating over nothing,” said Albert Darlington, another frequent visitor to the park.
“Hey, there was a bit of an incident between Dec and myself this morning. I’ll tell you all about it next time I see you,” Lay said in a video he sent to a friend on Jan. 28.
“He called me on the phone, and then he texted me and said, 'Sue, I'm really scared.' He said Dec is just out of control,” said Sue Jones, another dog owner who frequents the park.
Jones shared the last text message Lay sent to her the day before his death.
“He's crazy. He doesn’t have anywhere else to go. I'll keep you posted,” it said.
The evening before his death, Lay sent a foreboding video to another friend about an incident that occurred that morning.
“We’re the only two people here, and he comes up to me and screams at me, 'You’re going to die. You're gonna die,'” Lay said in the video.
Shooter claims self-defense
Radford shot and killed Lay in the park early the next morning.
“I pulled up, and there were 10 police cars here,” said Tammy Vashline.
Vashline said she was shocked that her good friend had been shot.
“Walt is a wonderful, kind, loving, compassionate, easy-going person,” she said.
Darlington got a text from Radford after the shooting. It included a picture of Radford's face which showed cuts and bruises.
The text said, “Walt attacked me at the park, and I had to defend myself.”
“Never envision him starting anything ever. Just not his way,” Vashline said.
The I-Team caught up with Radford walking his dog “Whiskey."
We asked him about the text and whether Lay attacked him, but he didn’t respond.
Victim’s friends say shooter shouted anti-gay insults
Lay's friends don’t believe Radford's account and described how he would shout anti-gay slurs at Lay. Andy Prince said he had a troubling encounter with Radford when he first met him at the dog park.
“He made it a point to say he was carrying a gun. You could see the bulge. And he also said that he hates gay people. Unprompted,” Prince said.
Sue Jones describes Radford taunting Lay in front of other parkgoers.
“Here comes the [homophobic slur],” she said he would say.
“Whenever Walt would get here, Dec would say, 'Here comes that [expletive] [homophobic slur],” Darlington said.
ABC Action News asked Radford if he was upset at Lay because he was gay, but he didn’t answer.
A review of Radford’s Facebook account shows he had frequently been restricted after violating the platform’s community standards. The account shows numerous anti-LGBT posts and posts of his dogs.
“There is no danger to the public”
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office sent out a short press release four days after the shooting saying “there are no impending charges” and “there is no danger to the public."
“As a matter of fact, quite the opposite’s true,” said Paul Gumpert, a frequent visitor to the dog park.
Gumpert said Lay kept his dog for him when he was out of town the weekend before Lay was shot. Gumpert, a former US Attorney’s Office employee, emailed the detective handling the case asking him to open a risk protection order investigation.
“I want his guns taken away. I want them taken away ASAP,” Gumpert said.
“This just can’t be swept under the rug, and let him go. What's he gonna do next?” Darlington said.
None of the frequent dog park visitors we spoke to say they have received any follow-up calls from detectives.
Radford told us he wouldn't talk about the case.
“I’m nowhere near over this. I’m nowhere near ready,” he said.
According to HCSO’s press release, the investigation will be turned over to the State Attorney’s office for final review.
If you have a story you’d like the I-Team to investigate, email us at adam@abcactionnews.com