‘Stand your ground’ shooter who shot unarmed black man has no regrets
The white Florida man who reignited the state’s “stand your ground” debate earlier this summer — when he fatally shot an unarmed black man who pushed him — says he would do it all over again if he had to.
“I’ve had plenty of time to think about it,” explained Michael Drejka in a jailhouse interview with WTSP-TV.
“As far as changing anything, as events…I don’t see, I really — no, not off the top of my head,” the 47-year-old said, after being asked whether he could think of anything he would’ve done different that day.
“I was very scared. I’ve never been confronted like that, or never been assaulted like that if you will — ever.”
Drejka, who is charged with manslaughter, is accused of fatally shooting 28-year-old Markeis McGlockton outside a convenience store in Clearwater, Fla., on July 19 after being pushed to the ground by him.
He initially went weeks without being arrested on account of the state’s controversial “stand your ground law” — which allows citizens to use deadly force when fearing “imminent death or great bodily harm.”
Asked how he felt after the cops “backed” him and “refused to arrest” him, Drejka said: “Vindicated.”
“I followed the law the way I felt the law was supposed to be followed,” he told WTSP. “I cleared every hurdle that that law had to, had to put in front of me.”
Drejka said he was “shocked” and “devastated” after learning of the State Attorney’s Office’s decision to file manslaughter charges last month.
“I didn’t hear about it until they were putting handcuffs on me,” the alleged killer explained.
He didn’t speak too much about the shooting itself, but did describe the moment he got pushed.
“Didn’t know it was a shove. It felt like I was tackled or someone hit me from behind with something,” Drejka said. “I left my feet and slid along the ground.”
Asked whether he was in fear for his life, Drejka told WTSP: “Yes sir. It was only one other person that was making a move and that move was towards me… I didn’t know what was coming for me and there’s only one way to look at that. You have to be scared for it, ’cause if you’re not, you’re wrong…And that’s that.”
Drejka claimed that he wasn’t racist, despite what others have said about him using the “N-word” in the past and getting into fights with black people at the very same gas station.
“I do not hate anybody,” he said. “I’ve worked with too many people, met too many people in my life to be that kind of person. There’s, there’s no way to survive really, by being like that. It doesn’t help anyone, you know, and to have a, that kind of feeling about an entire race of people seems foreign to me.”
Drejka told WTSP that one of his biggest “pet peeves” in life is the “abuse” of handicapped parking spots, which McGlockton was parked in on the day of the shooting. His girlfriend had been arguing with Drejka when McGlockton ran up and pushed him, surveillance footage shows.
“It’s always been a hotbed for me,” Drejka said, noting how his “high school sweetheart” was handicapped, as is his mother-in-law.
“My whole life has always been looking for a handicapped parking spot, and it’s always touched a nerve with me because of the way they’re abused and used.”
Despite having no remorse, Drejka apologized to McGlockton’s family at one point during the Friday interview — but admitted that it probably wouldn’t do any good.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “That’s all I can really say to them and uh, thinking about it, would you accept those kind of words from someone, I don’t think I would. You know, just to, uh, I think there’s too much hate already to, uh, for me to be able to say anything that would make any kind of difference.”
Drejka is being held on $100,000 bond at the Pinellas County Jail. He is facing up to 30 years in prison if convicted.
via: https://nypost.com/2018/09/03/stand-your-ground-shooter-who-shot-unarmed-black-man-has-no-regrets/
Florida man shoots up the home of person who left bad restaurant review
A bad restaurant review prompted a man in Florida to fire shots at the home of the person behind the online complaint, according to police.
Deputies said the Daybreak Diner owner’s son, Michael Johnson, was upset that a customer shared a post on Aug. 19 claiming the Orlando restaurant didn’t accommodate her disabled mother, news station WFTV reported.
The patron, Monica Walley, reportedly complained that employees were “unnecessarily rude” and she launched a social media campaign against the diner.
Johnson soon expressed his anger about the review to his roommates, Normal Auvil and Jesse Martin, while they were drinking beer Aug. 20 at their home, according to the report.
The trio found Walley’s address online, then drove to the residence “with the intent to harm someone” or cause property damage, according to an affidavit obtained by the Orlando Sentinel.
From the vehicle, Auvil fired three shots into the home, nearly hitting someone on a couch in the living room, authorities said.
Auvil, 42, was arrested Thursday and charged with shooting into a building, shooting from a vehicle and abuse of a disabled person.
“Both Martin and Johnson expressed concern for their safety and stated they had witnessed or been subjected to violent outbursts by Auvil in their residence,” according to the police report.
via: https://nypost.com/2018/09/03/man-shoots-up-home-after-bad-restaurant-review-cops/
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Former ‘Cosby Show’ Star Now Works As Trader Joe’s Cashier is sparking dialogue on Twitter
Actor who played Elvin Tibideaux ‘looked bloated and unhappy.
‘An exclusive RadarOnline.com investigation discovered Owens — who played Elvin Tibideaux on the long-running sitcom — scanning groceries in Clifton, N.J., for around $11 an hour.
Wearing an ID badge bearing his name, the balding 57-year-old sported a stained Trader Joe’s T-shirt Opens a New Window. while manning his post.
“He looked bloated and unhappy Opens a New Window. ,” noted shopper Karma Lawrence, 50, a medical secretary.
Despite his grim mood, Owens politely wished Lawrence “a good day” after ringing up her items, she said.
Still, she was shocked to see him.
“It made me feel really bad. I was like, ‘Wow! All those years of doing the show and you ended up as a cashier,’” Lawrence said.
Owens played oldest daughter Sondra Huxtable’s boyfriend-then-husband on the NBC Opens a New Window. show from 1985 to 1992.
But after the series ended, he found himself on the outside, according to his aging mother, Ethel.
“He was the star of the show Opens a New Window. , but they forgot about him after it went off the air!” Ethel — who shares a two-story home with Owens in nearby Montclair — told Radar.
But Trader Joe’s customers still recognize him, she said.
“They come up and say they remember him from their childhoods,” Ethel said.
After Cosby, Owens landed sporadic guest spot TV gigs.
He’s also had bit parts in the 2018 short film Fizzle and on TV’s It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
When Radar called Owen and asked about Trader Joe’s, he slammed down the phone Opens a New Window. , but contacted us the next day to list his recent acting jobs, including teaching a Shakespearean workshop in New York City.
Said Karma: “I would have thought after The Cosby Show he would maybe be doing something different. Other fans would be surprised as well.”
Thousand Oaks Man Arrested After Allegedly Pouring ‘Large Amount’ of Urine Over Neighbor’s SUV
After urine was poured on an SUV in Thousand Oaks just over a week ago, authorities arrested a man suspected of putting the urine there and on a front door mat, police said Friday.
A “large amount” of urine was poured over the vehicle and a front door mat belonging to the same person before authorities responded to the scene on Aug. 22. The vandalized SUV was in the 2800 block of Amber Wood Place when police officers were called there.
The victim of the vandalism, who police describe as “elderly,” had surveillance video at his home that helped lead investigators to identifying James Eddy Pierson as the suspect. Pierson has since been arrested on suspicion of felony vandalism and elder abuse.
The victim said the urine got into the interior of his SUV, making it impossible to remove all of the bodily fluid and leaving about $2,000 in damage, according to police. He also told officers that the man had poured urine on the front door mat of his home in Thousand Oaks.
According to one of his neighbors, Don Palmer, the victim’s home has been getting vandalized for some time and he’s been “tormented over years.” It’s unclear what kind of prior harassment or vandalism Palmer is referring to, but he said it was enough for the victim to purchase a Ring surveillance camera to catch the person behind it.
That video, released by the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office, shows a man pouring a container of brownish yellow liquid over the front end of a white SUV.
“People should not have to live like that in any community, but especially here in Thousand Oaks,” Palmer said, adding that the victim and his partner have been “frazzled” over the whole situation.
“They don’t want to have any issues, they want to live in peace,” he said. “It’s just a shame what’s been going on.”
Pierson was taken into custody after detectives served a search warrant at his home on Thursday, police said. There, the investigators found evidence linking him to the crimes and indicating he uses methamphetamine, according to police.
He is being held on $25,000 bail and is scheduled to be arraigned on Sept. 4.
Arizona Couple Arrested After 19-Month-Old Ingests Meth, Fentanyl, Oxycodone
A mother and her boyfriend have been arrested after their toddler son ingested fentanyl, methamphetamine, amphetamine, Oxycodone and opiates. The toddler also suffered burns, possibly from a torch used to smoke meth.
The child’s mom, Estella Hernandez, and her boyfriend, Rafael Kagan, face felony charges of child abuse and possession of narcotic drugs.
On Aug. 26, 2018, police officers and firefighters responded to an apartment near Seventh Street and Indian School Road in Phoenix, responding to a call of a child not breathing.
Upon arrival, police learned the 19-month-old boy had possibly ingested the drug Percocet while the child’s mother, Hernandez, and the mother’s boyfriend, Kagan, were sleeping.
According to the police report, emergency crews found the child “unresponsive” and “officers were told someone had administered Narcan to the child. (Narcan is a medication used to block the effects of opioids, especially in an overdose.)
Officers say they noticed a shelf near the bed containing four while pills and a glass pipe commonly used to smoke meth.
Paramedics transported the boy to Phoenix Children’s Hospital hospital, where, according to the police report, the “toxicology screening was later found to be positive for opiates and amphetamine.”
Further testing revealed the child “tested positive for fentanyl, methamphetamine, Oxycodone and opiates.”
According to the police report, a “nurse stated the child must have ingested a decent quantity of opiates to be as lethargic as he was.”
Police also noticed the little boy had “bruising to his right eyelid and to his middle back and an abrasion by his lower lip.” He also had “red spots under his chin and on his neck.” He also had some healed burns on his arm.
Police believe burns on the boy’s arm were from a torch used with meth.
Police say the boy’s mother, Hernandez, at first told officers one man was the boy’s father and that: “he thinks the child took some Percocet.” Hernandez then told police a second story, that another man was the boy’s father, and that “he was the one with the pills,” according to the police report.
She also told police that the second man administered Narcan to the little boy.
Finally, Hernandez told police that she and her boyfriend, Kagan, had been sleeping and “she woke up to find the child unresponsive.” It was later determined that the couple was passed out.
According to the police report, Hernandez told officers that Kagan “deals Percocet pills.”
And later during a police interview, Hernandez admitted that she, too, sells what she thinks are Percocet pills. She says “she usually puts the pills away after selling them, but last night she did not.”
She also admits she uses heroin and meth.
A search warrant at the apartment revealed an “extensive amount of drugs, drug paraphernalia, money and a scale.”
FDNY EMT technician still on the job after allegedly ignoring 911 calls, posing as police officer
SHEEPSHEAD BAY, Brooklyn — A FDNY emergency medical technician is being called to resign immediately after he allegedly ignored people’s 911 calls, posed as a police officer and forged his partner’s signature.
Robert Gala—who is the son of high ranking FDNY Chief Michael Gala—is still collecting a paycheck from the city.
On Friday, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams called on Robert Gala to resign immediately.
“He was not arrested once. He was not arrested twice. He was arrested three times,” Adams said. “For the same charge—criminally impersonating a police officer.
Gala, 25, was arrested in July 2017 after he was found with police badges, plastic restraints and pellet guns. In 2014, Gala drove an ambulance into a school bus with kids in it, according to reports.
When Mayor Bill de Blasio was asked why Gala still works for the FDNY, he said he wanted to know more about the situation.
“I really care deeply about the rules being followed and everything done appropriately but I need to see what the investigation shows,” de Blasio said.
“It baffles me that the mayor of the city has not looked at how this individual has tarnished the FDNY,” Adams said.
On Friday, the FDNY told PIX11 News that Gala is currently restricted from patient care and is pending further disciplinary action “up to termination.”
Man broke into funeral home to steal mother-in-law’s body
A man busted into a UK funeral home to steal back his mother-in-law’s body — taking matters into his own hands after he had not heard from the undertaker, according to a new report.
Desperate to make sure his mother-in-law was given a proper send-off, the man, who did not want to be identified, removed the body after he couldn’t reach anyone from Butterfly Funeral Services in Rochester, Kent to discuss arrangements, The Telegraph reported.
He brought the body to another undertaker in the back of a hire van — and told his wife nothing of his actions because he didn’t want to upset her, according to the report.
“I had no option…I had to get the body out,” the man told the outlet. “I had taken on all of the organizing and I didn’t want to bother my wife at this time…She still to this day doesn’t know what happened and I won’t be telling her.”
The man said he told local police of his plans and removed the body in broad daylight — returning later to pick up the clothes his mother-in-law wanted to be buried in.
The body-snatching happened a year ago, but was only revealed this week as bailiffs repossessed the funeral home, which had gone bust, according to the report.
Bailiffs found 16 full urns on a shelf — which had not been reunited with their families. Those urns have since been moved to another parlor as efforts are made to reach out to relatives.
Karen Calder, who ran the business, had racked up multiple unpaid bills and was banned from using local crematoriums.
She placed a handwritten note in the shop window apologizing for distress and asking families to email her if they wanted to collect their relatives’ ashes.
Robert Lawrence, manager of Medway Funeral Directors — which eventually handled the burial — said the man made multiple attempts to contact Calder about the arrangements.
It wasn’t clear whether the man was charged with a crime in connection to the body-snatching, but police were aware of his intentions before he took off with the corpse, Lawrence told the outlet.
“He spent a long while in contact with the police and in the end said, ‘I’ve just got to go and get her,’ Lawrence told the outlet. “When he did arrive with the body, we did all we could to help. He was very distressed and his wife still doesn’t know.”
These horror stories shouldn’t happen,” he added. “That parlor was never regulated by anybody, and it’s a terrible thing to have gone through.”
via: https://nypost.com/2018/08/31/man-broke-into-funeral-home-to-steal-mother-in-laws-body/