Florida ‘Stand Your Ground' Gunman Defends Shooting

A pistol-wielding man who shot an unarmed man to death after an argument over a handicapped parking space says he wouldn’t do anything differently.

Hearing the commotion, the boyfriend, Markeis McGlockton, and came outside. When he saw Drejka confronting the mother of his children, he shoved Drejka to the ground. Drejka then drew a gun and shot McGlockton dead.

Now, for the first time, Michael Drejka has spoken to the media about his thoughts on the July 19 incident.

Michael Drejka has been in jail since Aug. 13. While he was there, his wife has been trying to find a new home—the couple’s lease ran out on Aug. 31.

Drejka is worried about his wife, and how she will manage moving on her own. He is also worried because she has been receiving threats since the day of the incident, he said.

He has had plenty to think about—including the events which put him in prison. When asked, though, he said he couldn’t see anything about his actions that day that he would change.

“I’ve had plenty of time to think about it but as far as changing anything as far as events, is what you’re … I don’t see … I really ... No not off the top of my head," he told Reginald Roundtree.

Drejka also insisted that he is not a racist. When asked if he hated black people, Drejka replied, “I do not hate anybody.”

“My upbringing prevents that from coming out of me, ever,” he claimed.

“My parents weren’t that way—it was always, ‘Try to get along with everybody—Green Eggs and Ham—everybody’s different. I grew up during de-segregation, not segregation.”

When asked what he might say to Britany Jacobs and her family, he said there wasn’t much he could say.

“I’m sorry—that’s all I can really say to them.

“Thinking about it, would you accept those kinds of words from someone … I don’t think I would.

“I think there is too much hate already for me to say anything that would make any kind of difference.”

“My high-school sweetheart and I were together for a long time. At 16, she was involved in an accident which left her pretty much handicapped for the rest of her life,” he explained.

“These days, my mother-in-law is handicapped—it’s always been a hot button for me.”

Drejka said it seemed his whole life, he was always looking for a handicapped parking spot. “It’s always touched a nerve with me, the way they’re abused and used,” he said with some vehemence.

He then claimed that he did not initiate any controversy in the case at hand.

“I don’t usually confront people about it, either, such as in this case,” he claimed. “I did not confront anyone—I was confronted—and I answered.”

However, the video clearly shows him walking from one end of the parking lot to the other end specifically to engage with Britany Jacobs.

When the driver of a septic tank truck parked in the spot, Drejka began yelling at the man, threatening to shoot him. Drejka later called the man’s employer and said the employer was lucky Drejka “didn’t blow his employee’s head off.”

Detective Moffett also testified that that twice in 2012 Drejka waved a gun at drivers in road rage incidents. In each case, police officers stopped Drejka and found him with a gun, but he denied having drawn it.

While McGlockton was in the store with his five-year-old son, Drejka approached the parked car and began to argue with Jacobs, who stayed in the car with the two youngest children.

“He was picking a fight. I’m just sitting, waiting for my family to come back to the car.”

The pair had been arguing for about two minutes when McGlockton came out of the store and saw Drejka confronting his wife.

McGlockton gave Drejka a shove, sending him sprawling. Drejka, seated on the pavement, pulled a pistol from his waistband and fired at McGlockton, who had started backing away when he saw the gun.

The bullet struck McGlockton in the chest, fatally wounding him. He staggered into the store and died in front of his five-year-old son.

Drejka claimed he was in mortal danger, and was not arrested at the scene. However, the entire incident had been captured on video tape, by the store’s surveillance camera.

McCabe said his office had "reviewed everything, and we filed the charge we think we can prove."