Michael Dejka Trial Coming Up, Most Defense Motions Denied

[bbbass]

If McGlocton's history is out, so should Drejka's. The trial isn't about whether he was an ornery cuss, it's about whether he shot in SD.

Goes to motive... I'm not a lawyer, but I did sleep in a Holiday Express once or twice!!

 

[bbbass]

I linked it above, post #14, let the insanity continue.

I saw that.... Gosh, thanx!!!!!

 

[awshoot]

IMO the argument should be that the thug forced him to the point in his OODA loop where he decided to shoot, and it takes a person time to reorient and choose a new action. Maybe Mas Ayoob can testify to that effect.

Obviously, I buy that argument, but totally agree that it isn't a slam dunk defense.

I was thinking about this. Recently I have been practicing drawing from a pretty deeply concealed pistol in a belly band holster and point shooting three shots (its a .380) at the target. I've managed to get my time down to less than 3 seconds, and recently have been getting 2.7 to 2.9 somewhat consistently (and 2.5 rarely) with all shots on target at 2-4 yds.

What this Drejka situation brings to mind, is that there is plenty of time in 2.5 seconds for an assailant to either get me from that distance, or decide to back off. If it is the latter, I wonder if I might send shots just like I do when I practice out of pure habit and without noticing what is going on at that literal second, which is a different second than when I chose to draw.

How can I add into my practice a variable where I draw, and then randomly either must shoot or not shoot?

 

[bbbass]

I was thinking about this. Recently I have been practicing drawing from a pretty deeply concealed pistol in a belly band holster and point shooting three shots (its a .380) at the target. I've managed to get my time down to less than 3 seconds, and recently have been getting 2.7 to 2.9 somewhat consistently (and 2.5 rarely) with all shots on target at 2-4 yds.

What this Drejka situation brings to mind, is that there is plenty of time in 2.5 seconds for an assailant to either get me from that distance, or decide to back off. If it is the latter, I wonder if I might send shots just like I do when I practice out of pure habit and without noticing what is going on at that literal second, which is a different second than when I chose to draw.

How can I add into my practice a variable where I draw, and then randomly either must shoot or not shoot?

Have an assistant position a target, or several at your usual distance (3-4ft would be fine). From a standing position with your back to the target, turn at the buzzer... there may be a no shoot target, there may be a regular target... you will need to assess quickly.

Backing up a little, I'm not a big fan of the OODA loop argument. Getting stuck in a decision already made does not seem to be what happened. I think he made the decision either at the time he pulled the trigger, or long ago (Let's not forget he said previously that he wanted to shoot a black guy!)

I also think that "Little Man Syndrome" may have kicked in... wanna be gets outraged when he's put on his butt and loses his cch!t!

 

[Eric in Oregon]

Backing up a little, I'm not a big fan of the OODA loop argument. Getting stuck in a decision already made does not seem to be what happened. I think he made the decision either at the time he pulled the trigger, or long ago (Let's not forget he said previously that he wanted to shoot a black guy!)

The OODA loop isn't an argument, it's a useful way to describe how people react to the world. I can't find any references to him saying he 'wanted to shoot a black guy'. Got a reference on that? You're making assumptions from things not in evidence.

 

[bbbass]

The OODA loop isn't an argument, it's a useful way to describe how people react to the world. I can't find any references to him saying he 'wanted to shoot a black guy'. Got a reference on that? You're making assumptions from things not in evidence.

How am I making assumptions??? Him wanting to shoot a black guy is something I remember as the statement of a black witness to Dreitke saying it. If I can find it, I will provide a link, but don't expect anything soon.

Regarding an OODA loop argument... I think it was proposed to have Mas testify about it in court... if it's presented in court, it's presented as an "argument". Carry on.

 

[awshoot]

Have an assistant position a target, or several at your usual distance (3-4ft would be fine). From a standing position with your back to the target, turn at the buzzer... there may be a no shoot target, there may be a regular target... you will need to assess quickly.

That sounds like a good place to start. The issue I see is that I will know very early in the draw whether I'm going to be shooting. I'd like to get the cue right about when the gun clears the holster because at that point, I'm less than a second from pulling the trigger at that point.

EDIT: I know what I want. I want a target stand that connects to the shot timer, and a set time after timer goes off, shows one target or the other. The target could be held in a fork supported by a pole, and the base of that pole a motor could randomly spin it one way or the other, showing either a shoot side or a don't shoot side.

 

[Eric in Oregon]

How am I making assumptions???

The 'little man syndrome' comment was apparently made up from nothing.

don't expect anything soon.

Got it.

 

[BobbyH]

Good, fry him. There was nothing in that video that justified deadly force.

 

[Nick Burkhardt]

Firearms trainer and use of force expert Brannon Lebouef of Nolatac breaks it down for us.
Jump to time index 6:40 to skip the opening banter

 

[bbbass]

That sounds like a good place to start. The issue I see is that I will know very early in the draw whether I'm going to be shooting. I'd like to get the cue right about when the gun clears the holster because at that point, I'm less than a second from pulling the trigger at that point.

EDIT: I know what I want. I want a target stand that connects to the shot timer, and a set time after timer goes off, shows one target or the other. The target could be held in a fork supported by a pole, and the base of that pole a motor could randomly spin it one way or the other, showing either a shoot side or a don't shoot side.

It only takes money.

 

[bbbass]

The 'little man syndrome' comment was apparently made up from nothing.



Got it.

Now you're just arguing. I expressed a thought, an idea, a supposition, an opinion. Made up from what I saw on the vid, and what I've read about the case, not made up from "nothing".

I won't argue with you about my opinions... they may be accurate, or not. But I did NOT state it as fact, as you are implying. I don't need to justify or back up an "opinion"... it is what it is. Take it or leave it. Discuss or don't discuss. I don't care.

So here's what I have so far on the witness that I said claimed Drejka wanted to shoot a black guy. I misremembered it slightly. Before you go off, the most you can accuse me of is a faulty memory. So please don't go all high and mighty on me for spreading false rumors, this forum hardly matters to his case.

From the wiki: (yeah, I know, but you get what you get) The witness name is not included and I don't remember it.

Claims Drejka confronted him over parking his employer's tanker truck in the handicapped space. He accuses Drejka of threatening to shoot him and using a racial slur. The store owner intervened and ordered Drejka to stop. After the incident Drejka calls the company the driver works for and complains to the owner, reportedly saying the driver was "lucky I didn't blow his head off." The driver reports this incident to the police in July after the shooting of Markeis McGlockton at the same location.

I think there is more about this witness out there somewhere. But I really don't feel like chasing it down. You win...

 

[Dungannon]

Personally, I think Drejka is a thug.

 

[Alexx1401]

Very sad, and if I ended up on the Jury here not sure what the hell I would do. The guy who got shot clearly was an A$$hat. The shooter would have been fine if he had not decided to be a parking enforcement official who was self appointed. The biggest problem I have is the hesitation. When he draws the tough guy stops and looks to be turning away, then he fired anyway. The bottom line? See someone parked in the wrong spot either go on with life and ignore it, or call the Police. He chose to start a confrontation. The confrontation did not come to him. If the guy shot had for no reason walked up and shoved him down? Then I would have had much less problem with this. Whatever happens I hope the guy learned something from this.

 

[User 1234]

This guy missed his calling as an HOA board member.

 

[Nick Burkhardt]

First, time from muzzle up to the shot is actually only 1.25 seconds. Considering that it takes a quarter of a second from the decision to shoot and the bullet leaving the gun, that gave the shooter only a dazed, pain filled second to gamble that the attack was over or be proactive and defend himself. We get to watch it from a calm third party perspective. He had to live it in real time, in pain, wondering "how did I end up on the ground?", then seeing a younger, bigger, stronger man looming over him.

Second, changes in horizontal distance (how we are seeing it) are more easy to detect than changes in vertical distance, especially if the observer is at a different level (such as on the ground) than the object. What we see as a step back was observed as winding up for a kick by the shooter. There is lots of misinformation in the incitement. For example the deponent states that they used fancy 3d modeling software to estimate the distance as 12 to 15 feet. Why didn't they just go to the site with a tape measure? It looks like 10 feet to me. Even less when the decision to fire was made.

Third, the pusher does not adequately retreat far enough to not be perceived as a threat, he does not signal surrender by a real hands up don't shoot posture, and finally the pusher never said a word to the shooter according to all parties so there was no verbal surrender. To me it looks like the pusher has assumed a bladed fighting stance and is deciding if a low roundhouse kick will disarm his opponent. We see Mr Blue Shirt run from the gun as most people would. Do you know who is not afraid of guns? Criminals, like the 7 time felon pusher, that's who.

Finally, even after being shot in the chest with a 40 the pusher still had enough time and strength to run all the way back in the store. That means if the pusher had decided to continue his attack at any point, being shot would not have stopped him and additional harm would have been inflicted on the shooter. Why did the shooter pull the trigger? Maybe because he wanted to keep his teeth.

The so-called "news" referred to Michael Drejka as a 48 year old retired tree trimmer. Stop the tape, I know this is Florida and all, but how does a tree trimmer make enough green to retire in their 40's?

I had to dig beyond the first page of search results to find out that his attorney John Trevena said that Drejka was injured after years of working as a tree trimmer, and had worked as an Uber driver, but his car became inoperable (I am guessing that would be an Uber approved car and not the POS he was driving that day).

So does that change anyone's mind knowing that he had a prior injury? Does that make him an "eggshell client" more susceptible to attack and more fragile than an average 48 year old?

In his police interview Drejka said that parking spaces for the disabled "have always touched a nerve" because his high school girlfriend and his mother-in-law used disabled parking spots.

Here are some things we can hopefully all agree on: all three people were jerks and none of us would have acted the way they all did.

 

[Eric in Oregon]

What we see as a step back was observed as winding up for a kick by the shooter...

... the pusher does not adequately retreat far enough to not be perceived as a threat, he does not signal surrender by a real hands up don't shoot posture, and finally the pusher never said a word to the shooter according to all parties so there was no verbal surrender. To me it looks like the pusher has assumed a bladed fighting stance and is deciding if a low roundhouse kick will disarm his opponent. We see Mr Blue Shirt run from the gun as most people would. Do you know who is not afraid of guns? Criminals, like the 7 time felon pusher, that's who.

This, exactly. I've been surprised at how many people see it differently on this forum and others.

... Drejka was injured after years of working as a tree trimmer ...

Depending on the exact injury, it seems very relevant. If the guy's an eggshell then any attack is automatically more lethal.

 

[awshoot]

This, exactly. I've been surprised at how many people see it differently on this forum and others.
...

I actually watched a good portion of the video above, enough to realize for the first time that the camera's perspective doesn't tell the story from Drejka's perspective. I hadn't considered before that the step back could look like a wind up (re other posters above and the video). Anyway, I'm not ready to vote to acquit, but I'm not so sure I'd vote to convict either. Honestly, I'm glad I'm not on the jury and I'm glad I'm not in Drejka's shoes.

 

[awshoot]

Personally, I think Drejka is a thug.

He may be, but as is pointed out in the video, that isn't the standard by which SD is measured.

 

[User 1234]

Regardless of whether the shoot itself was justified, he was starting confrontations with strangers about parking spots while carrying. Not a reason to convict but a lesson in what not to do.