A Florida man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for the fatal shooting of Markeis McGlockton outside a Clearwater convenience store, according to the Tampa Bay Times and other outlets.
Michael Drejka, 49, was found guilty of manslaughter by a jury in August and had faced up to 30 years in prison. A judge handed down the sentence at a hearing in Pinellas County on Thursday, October 10, 2019.
According to court proceedings and news reports, McGlockton, 28, was shot in July 2018. He had gone into the store with his 5 year old son to buy drinks while his girlfriend, Britany, waited in the car with two of their children. Drejka, who is not a police officer, approached the car to see whether it had a handicap decal for the parking space and got into a verbal argument with Britany.
Surveillance video shown in the case reportedly shows McGlockton leaving the store and pushing Drejka to the ground. Seconds later, Drejka fires a gun at McGlockton as he steps back. Prosecutors said the video and autopsy results showed McGlockton was unarmed and was turning away when he was shot.
Drejka’s defense argued that he acted in self defense under Florida’s stand your ground law. Drejka told police he was bothered by people who park in handicap spaces without permission. Because he held a concealed weapons permit, he was not arrested at first. Nearly a month later, prosecutors charged him with manslaughter following national outcry and protests.
Drejka also reportedly agreed to pay $550 in court costs and $5,000 toward funeral costs for the McGlockton family at sentencing.
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