TAMPA, Fla. — We’re listening to the reaction following a not-guilty verdict in the Tampa dog park shooting.
Witnesses who testified in the trial of Gerald Declan Radford are speaking out.
Friends of 54-year-old Walt Lay, who was shot and killed here at West Dog Park, about what happened at the trial, the verdict, and what message they think it sends.
“The defendant is not guilty. So say we all,” the jury foreperson announced late Thursday afternoon.
The four-day-long murder trial of Gerald Declan Radford ended with an acquittal after just two-and-a-half hours of deliberations.
Radford was accused of a hate crime after shooting Walt Lay, who was unarmed, in the park.
Witnesses testified at the trial that Radford taunted Lay for months because he was gay.
Radford said Lay attacked him, and he shot Lay in self-defense.
“It was incredibly tragic what happened on February 2nd, but Mr. Radford was innocent. He wasn’t guilty, and we’re so thankful that the jury got it right,” Radford’s attorney Matt Futch said minutes after the verdict.
But not everyone believes the jury got it right.
“I was devastated. Very devastated. And I felt there was a failure in the justice system,” Kim Wolfly said.
Wolfly received a selfie video that Lay made the day before he died, saying Radford threatened him.
“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.
Wolfly said she only discovered the video after learning of Lay’s death.
She contacted detectives about the video and ended up testifying at the trial.
Wolfly marched in the Tampa Pride parade last year carrying Lay’s picture.
“We did that to bring awareness about what happened to Walt,” she said. “He would be proud of us that we tried our best to help him get justice.”
She said she doesn’t believe that happened in the case.
Neither does Albert Darlington, who also testified at Radford’s trial about witnessing Radford harass Lay for months.
“This is such a sad situation. Nobody wins. Everybody loses. His family still has their loved one. Our friend’s gone,” Darlington said.
Darlington is worried the verdict will make it easier for others to claim self-defense.
“I’m a little concerned because it pushes the stand your ground to you push me, and I can shoot you,” Darlington said.
When asked if she thought Radford might return to West Dog Park, Wolfly responded, “Hopefully not, but I wouldn’t put it past him. He's free to come here. It's not like any of us can prevent us from coming here.”
“He's a jerk, but I hope he’s not that big of a jerk,” Darlington said.
Shortly after the verdict, we spoke to Radford’s attorney and told him we wanted to talk to Radford about his thoughts on the trial. So far, we haven’t heard from him.
