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.
The store owner tells ABC Action News that Drejka has a history of assaulting people in the very parking lot the shooting took place. A man who frequents the store told ABC Action News he had a run-in with the man who opened fire just one month ago.
Rich Kelly says the man picked a fight with him over a parking spot, using racial slurs, and even threatening to kill him. Now, a month later, a similar case, ending with a father killed in front of his 5-year-old son.
