The video of a fatal shooting in dispute over a parking space is the focus of the trial

A Florida jury heard two very different interpretations of a security video at the beginning of the trial of a man who shot and killed an unarmed father in front of his family during a clash around a parking lot for the disabled.

A prosecutor implored the jury on Wednesday to focus on each image of the scene showing the accused Michael Drejka firing Markeis McGlockton in front of a convenience store in Clearwater, Florida, a defense lawyer retorted that "we can not rely on what you see in the video". . "

Drejka, 47, is charged with manslaughter during the murder of McGlockton, 28, on July 19, 2018, in front of his pregnant girlfriend and their three young children.

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Among the first witnesses that prosecutors called on Wednesday was McGlockton's girlfriend, Britany Jacobs, who had reported seeing McGlockton get shot by Drejka, then observed the man she had called her "soulmate" fighting for her life.

Jacobs, 26, said the incident was unfolding when Drejka approached her car and started screaming at her for parking in a handicapped place. She said that she was in the car with her two youngest children, a baby and a 3 year old child. She said that Drejka had "frightened" her.

"He was more angry and aggressive, and he yelled and told me where I should park," Jacobs said. "I just wanted this man to leave me alone, leave me and my babies too."

But she said that Drejka kept shouting at him.

"I said:" Do you want me to get my man? "I said that when I get in, OK, maybe he'll leave me alone, maybe that he will retire if he knew that I had someone with me, "said Jacobs at the time." He continued to argue with me and said: "Yes, if you want him to fight. "

She said that McGlockton, who had been in the Circle A store with her 5-year-old son, Markeis Jr., went out of the store and shouted to Drejka to "get away from my daughter" before pushing him to Earth. .

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In no time, Drejka, she said, fired a pistol and shot McGlockton as he retired.

"He was backing away, he could not go back because the car was there," Jacobs said.

She said that McGlockton, mortally wounded, returned to the store. When she followed him inside, she saw him on the floor "fighting for his life".

"Then I grabbed a t-shirt and put it on her wound to stop the bleeding," said Jacobs, a licensed practical nurse.

Despite the efforts of her and the paramedics, McGlockton passed away.

Drejka initially invoked Florida's self-defense law, which came into force in 2005, which allowed people to use lethal force if they considered their life was in imminent danger. But Drejka and her lawyers have since abandoned this argument in favor of a self defense case.

Both parties emphasized in their opening statements the grainy and noiseless video that showed the filming taking place outside the Circle A store.

Defense lawyer Bryant Camareno urged the jury to put themselves in Drejka's shoes, saying his client had been "violently pushed" to the ground by McGlockton and threatened by McGlockton's girlfriend before Drekja does not withdraw his weapon while he was sitting on the sidewalk.

"Although Mr McGlockton – whom he rests in peace – did not have a weapon, he was the weapon," Camareno told the jury.

During his testimony, Jacobs denied ever threatening Drejka.

Camareno stated that Drejka, who was legally allowed to carry a concealed weapon, was "blinded" by McGlockton, who was taller and heavier, and in a state of confusion and fear, Drejka thought that he was going to be injured.

"I contend that the evidence will show that the use of force was justifiable because … Mr. Drejka reasonably believed that force was necessary," said Camareno. "The only just verdict is that of not guilty."

Meanwhile, Pinellas County Attorney General Fred Schaub told the jury of five men and one woman that the video of the shooting, as well as testimony from witnesses and experts, would prove that Drejka was guilty of manslaughter.

Pinellas County Sheriff's Office via AP

"He took the life of another human being illegally, without any legal justification," Schaub said. "And that's what we will prove to you during this lawsuit."

He asked the jury to review all of the evidence and "come back into this courtroom with a verdict that tells the truth, a verdict that says," We, members of the jury, each of us finds the accused guilty. of the crime of manslaughter. "

Schaub said it was not the first time that Drejka was getting into an altercation about the same disabled parking space.

The first witness cited by the prosecution was Richard Kelly, a truck driver, who had a similar clash with Drejka on February 14, 2018, five months before McGlockton's death.

Kelly testified that Drejka approached him and shouted at him to park in an area reserved for people with reduced mobility. Kelly said the showdown was so rough that Drejka threatened to shoot him.

He said: "I should shoot you, I kill you," Kelly said. "I told him" Well, I'm not afraid of dying. "

Kelly stated that Drejka had never shot at him and that he had never seen a weapon. He said that he had moved away from the confrontation.

Schaub said in his opening statement that Drejka later called Kelly's boss to complain. Shaub said Kelly's boss, John Tyler, would testify that Drejka had told him, "He [Kelly] I'm lucky that I do not wear because I could have shot him. "

Camareno blamed the prosecutor for believing that the confrontation with Kelly had shown that Drejka had adopted a pattern of practice that ultimately led to McGlockton's death. He added that Drejka had never been arrested or charged and that neither Kelly nor Tyler had called the police to report it.

Jim Damaske / Times of Tampa Bay / TNS via Newscom

He said that Drejka had a "beastly beast" about people parking in disabled areas and told the jury: "This is not a crime."

While Camareno said the jury "can not rely" on the video because it's "not the best quality", he has shown it repeatedly, freezing it to show McGlockton coming out of the shop and tossing Drejka to the floor.

"We want you to watch the video, we want you to watch it in real time, we do not want you to watch in slow motion because life is not idling," Camareno said.

He said the evidence would show that it took 11 seconds between the moment McGlockton made a "beeline" towards Drejka and pushed him to the ground before being shot.

"An excusable homicide occurs when someone reacts in a burst of passion, sudden provocation," Camareno said. "Hearing the testimony of these witnesses, you will see that there was a sudden provocation … from Mr. McGlockton."