Attorney Bryant Camareno begins the defense opening.
He talks about the video.
“We want you to look at it in real time. We don’t want you to look at it in slow motion. … Life didn’t happen in slow motion for Mr. Drejka.”
He talks about the 11 seconds it took for McGlockton to exit the store and shove Drejka.
“While Mr. McGlockton had no weapon, he was the weapon.
Camareno tells the jury that the prior incident at the convenience store was not a crime.
He tells the jury to listen to what witnesses say on the stand, but also what they said back when the shooting happened. He asks then to weigh whether any of them have changed their story.
Camareno tells the jurors they will hear from a witness who says Drejka didn’t threaten Jacobs during their argument.
“Mr. Drejka was allowed to have a concealed weapon. Not once did he ever take that weapon out or threaten anybody.”
A witness will also say they heard McGlockton’s girlfriend say, “My man is about to F you up.”
“We want you to rely not emotion but on facts. Facts. The truth.”
The attorney characterizes McGlockton’s shove as not just a shove but a “violent shove.”
“The force is so strong that it tore a hole in his shirt.”
You have the threat, “My man is going to F you up,” Camareno says. You have Britany getting out the car. You have the violent shove. It all happens in 3 to 4 seconds, Camareno says, and Drejka is wondering what’s going to happen to him.
We wrote extensively about Drejka’s statements to police
here. You can also watch video from parts of his interview with detectives
here.
Much more at link:
Trial in the Clearwater parking lot shooting: Day 3, opening statements