Three weeks after a controversial ‘Stand Your Ground’ shooting in Clearwater, charges have been filed in the case. Gunman Michael Drejka is being booked on a manslaughter charge for the death of Markeis McGlockton.
The shooting, which was captured on surveillance footage, had become the focus of local and national protests after Sheriff Bob Gualtieri concluded that last year’s changes to the state’s Stand Your Ground law – which gives citizens the right to use deadly force in self-defense – prevented him from making an arrest while the self-defense claim was investigated.
Instead, Gualtieri opted to hand over the evidence to the State Attorney’s Office and allow prosecutors to decide whether to charge Drejka.
The parking lot confrontation happened at the Circle A Food Store on Sunset Point Road back on July 19. Investigators say Drejka, 47, confronted McGlockton’s girlfriend for parking in a handicapped spot.
The wounded McGlockton walked back into the convenience store, where he collapsed. He died at Morton Plant Hospital a half-hour later.