Category: police and crime

GROCERY STORES – The New Soft Target

Man shot dead inside Florida Publix – February 12, 2022

February 12, 2022 – Coral Gables, Florida: https://www.wesh.com/article/publix-shooting-coral-gables/39004277

Active shooter defense training for those who don’t want to be a sitting duck . . .

In-Gauge of Polk County’s Active Shooter Training

The cost of our 5-hour, handgun training / concealed carry qualification class that includes one hour of instructor led, live-fire range training that trains you to safely handle and fire a handgun. Even if you have already taken a ‘concealed carry class’ you will learn more in this class than you ever knew existed regarding the carrying of a firearm in public, guaranteed. This class trains you to do more than how to pull a trigger. This class trains you how to handle, load, unload and fire your gun to hit your target.

$75 – We provide a the handgun and 50 rounds of ammunition or you can bring your own.

ACTIVE SHOOTER TRAINING COURSE – This is an advanced level handgun training course. This course trains to do more than just fire a handgun. This course trains you to defend your life and the lives of your loved ones. If you are going to carry a concealed firearm in public, this is a must have course.

  • In-Gauge of Polk County’s Active Shooter Training
  • In-Gauge of Polk County’s Active Shooter Training
  • In-Gauge of Polk County’s Active Shooter Training
  • In-Gauge of Polk County’s Active Shooter Training
  • In-Gauge of Polk County’s Active Shooter Training

Contact us for complete firearms training:

  • Concealed carry: Basic & Advanced
  • Pistol: Basic & Advanced
  • Shotgun
  • Rifle
  • Home Defense
  • Active Shooter
  • Church Guardian

The cost of our basic, minimum standards 3-hour, concealed carry class: $50 All materials included. There are no hidden costs. Completion of this class qualifies the participant for applying for a Florida concealed carry license. (No firearm training included in this class.).

It should be understood that ‘concealed carry classes‘ do NOT teach handgun use, handling or firing. For the most part, they only teach the State laws pertaining to the carrying of firearms and other weapons and where you can and cannot carry a weapon in the state of Florida.

For complete class information, dates and times, and to register for this class, go to: Class Schedule and Registration

Lake Wales Man Charged With Aggravated Assault Following Road Rage Incident

A search of the vehicle found 3 firearms inside Lang’s vehicle.

Lake Wales, Florida : Jan. 19, 2022 – Dustin Lang, 20, of Lake Wales was arrested for allegedly threatening a woman with a semi-automatic handgun during a road rage incident, at the intersection of US Hwy. 27 and Central Avenue.

According to a Lake Wales Police Department arrest affidavit, Lang exited his pickup truck brandishing a semi-automatic handgun, threatening a woman whose vehicle he had intestinally backed into during the course of an argument. Upon arrival of law enforcement and subsequent questioning, Lang stated he had multiple firearms inside his vehicle.   A search of the vehicle found 3 firearms inside Lang’s vehicle.  

A black HK USP Compact 40 S&W semi- automatic handgun was located in Lang’s center console, matching the description of the gun given by the victim.

Lang was placed under arrest and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Florida Appeals Court Upholds Conviction in Parking Lot Shooting

Convicted man loses ‘stand your ground’ defense on appeal in Florida.

A man convicted in a Clearwater convenience store parking lot shooting death, who had been battered by a convicted drug dealer, with methamphetamine in his system, loses ‘stand your ground’ defense before the Florida Second District Court of Appeal.

https://www.tampabay.com/news/crime/2021/12/29/michael-drejka-conviction-sentence-upheld-by-appeals-court/

December 30, 2021 – By Jim Saunders

Judge Edward LaRose rejected a series of arguments raised by Michael Drejka, who was convicted of manslaughter in the July 2018 shooting of Markeis McGlockton during an altercation about a parking spot outside a Pinellas County convenience store.

In a case that drew national attention, an appeals court upheld a conviction and 20-year prison sentence in the fatal shooting of a man during an altercation about a parking spot outside a Pinellas County convenience store. A three-judge panel of the Second District Court rejected a series of arguments raised by Michael Drejka, who was convicted of manslaughter in the July 2018 shooting of Markeis McGlockton.

The case drew heavy attention, in part, because the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office initially declined to arrest Drejka, citing the state’s controversial “stand your ground” self-defense law. Prosecutors later charged Drejka, who was convicted by a jury after a five-day trial.

The shooting happened after McGlockton and his 5-year-old son went into the convenience store, leaving a car that was improperly parked in a spot designated for people with disabilities. Drejka confronted McGlockton’s girlfriend, Brittany Jacobs, and shouted at her about being parked in the spot.

A witness, concerned about Jacobs’ safety, went into the store and told a clerk, according to Wednesday’s ruling. McGlockton heard the witness, went outside and pushed Drejka to the ground.

Drejka pulled out a gun and shot McGlockton, who was unarmed, with the bullet piercing McGlockton’s heart and killing him, the ruling said.

Drejka argued that he acted in self-defense. Among the issues in the appeal was his contention that Circuit Judge Joseph Bulone should have issued what is known as a judgment of acquittal based on the self-defense argument.

But the appeals court, in a 31-page opinion, rejected the contention, pointing to surveillance video of the shooting and witness testimony that McGlockton retreated after pushing down Drejka.

“The surveillance video, coupled with the eyewitness testimony that Mr. McGlockton was retreating, were sufficient to defeat Mr. Drejka’s JOA [judgment of acquittal] motion,” said the opinion, written by Judge Edward LaRose and joined by Judges Stevan Northcutt and Suzanne Labrit. “The jury, not the trial judge, had to resolve whether Mr. Drejka acted in self-defense.”

Among Drejka’s other arguments in the appeal was that a juror should have been removed for speaking with an official of the NAACP during the trial. McGlockton was African American, and Drejka is white.

But the appeals court said the circuit judge properly handled the juror issue.

“Our record is devoid of any juror misconduct,” Wednesday’s ruling said. “As the trial court’s interview with the juror revealed, the juror did not know that the individual (from the NAACP) that approached him was observing the trial in an overflow courtroom. Importantly, the two did not discuss the case at all. Certainly, then, the juror did not violate any court order.”

Drejka, now 51, is an inmate at the Columbia Correctional Institution Annex.

CHICAGO MAYOR CALLS FOR FEDERAL HELP TO FIGHT VIOLENT CRIME – After snubbing President Trump’s offer 18 months earlier

3,411 shootings occurred in 2021, a 9 percent increase from last year

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/586706-chicago-mayor-calls-for-federal-help-to-fight-violent-crime

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) is calling for federal officials to help her curb gun violence in the city and target its root causes.

In a speech on Monday, Lightfoot urged U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to utilize agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to address illegal firearms and for more prosecutors to bring criminal cases, according to The Chicago Tribune.

“Keeping you safe is my priority — not one of, but the first and primary priority,” Lightfoot said to the citizens of Chicago. “I wake every morning with this as my first concern and I push myself and all involved to step up and do more and better because we cannot continue to endure the level of violence that we are now experiencing.”

See Mayor Lightfoot’s earlier answer to preventing shooting deaths in Chicago (https://wordpress.com/post/ingaugeofpolkcounty.com/15788) September 29, 2021.

The mayor also requested that judges in Cook County stop releasing people charged with violent crimes including murder, aggravated gun possession, sex crimes, illegal gun possession and kidnapping on electric monitoring, the Tribune noted.

The solutions proposed by Lightfoot, none of which are new strategies, were reportedly criticized as “regressive” and “clearly unconstitutional.”

Cook County Public Defender Sharone Mitchell told the Tribune the mayor “diagnosed the very real root causes of violence, the solutions were textbook policymaking based on fear.”

“The mayor’s regressive proposal calls for the pretrial detention of thousands of people who haven’t been convicted of anything and the plan could only be achieved by exploding the population of Cook County Jail in the middle of a pandemic,” Mitchell said.

Lightfoot’s speech comes as Chicago police data indicated that 3,411 shootings occurred in 2021 as of earlier this month, a 9 percent increase from last year.

LAKELAND HOMEOWNER SHOOTS INTRUDER – Receives Praise from Sheriff Grady Judd

“I’m proud of our homeowner for defending himself,”

“I’m proud of our homeowner for defending himself,” Judd added. “It’s called a ‘Castle Doctrine.’ He has the right to protect himself and his home from unknown intruders.”

“He had a gun, he knew how to use it, it was loaded, and he shot him a lot,” Judd said. “He gave him an early Christmas present. Only Santa Claus gets to come in your house — and Santa Claus is invited.”

According to police, the homeowner says an intruder tossed a flower pot through the glass French doors of the home in an attempt to gain entry from the back porch. The homeowner then shot the intruder three times.

Police arrived on the scene and found 42-year-old Steven Stillwell shot on the living room floor. Stillwell was rushed to the hospital and was in critical, but stable condition.

A shotgun belonging to Stillwell was found laying on the ground in the backyard of the home.

According to PCSO, the suspect has an extensive arrest history, with 14 felonies and five misdemeanors, including multiple burglaries and larcenies, DUI, drug possession, dealing in stolen property, fraud, possession of drug paraphernalia, and possession of a weapon/ammunition by a convicted felon. He also has 11 re-arrest charges, with multiple violations of probation.

3 seconds will determine . . .

Sheriff Grady Judd:  ” . . . a perfect stand your ground.”

Licensed concealed carry good guy takes out bad guy during a “domestic violence” road rage incident.

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd:  ” . . . a perfect stand your ground.”

A long standing axiom, known and taught by those in the self-defense arena, was affirmed by Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, during a press conference Wednesday, August 29th, regarding a fatal, self-defense shooting in Winter Haven, Florida.

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd affirms that 3 seconds will determine who survives a deadly threat and who will not.   Sheriff Grady Judd:  “You see how quickly you have to make a decision on whether you live or whether you die.“

3 seconds will determine if you are the one who makes the 911 call or the one who is carried away in a black body bag.