The Case of Michael Drejka

the definition of justifiable homicide is a killing without evil or criminal intent it's a type of defense used in criminal law where the homicide of another is excused by reason of the offending party being under imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury a homicide in this instance is considered blameless yet the ability to prove or refute this defense will often boil down to some of the most precise technicalities that would most often be considered insignificant under different circumstances at around 3:30 p.m. on July 19th 2018 29 year old Brittany Jacobs drove to the circle a food store located in Clearwater Florida in the passenger seat was her 28 year old boyfriend Marquis McLaughlin while in the backseat were their three children who were all under the age of six at the time when they got to the store Brittany parked the vehicle in the stores only handicapped parking space located on the side of the building Marquis then got out and went into the store with their five-year-old son to buy drinks and snacks roughly 90 seconds later while Brittany was still inside the vehicle 47 year-old Michael Drake pulled up in his Toyota and illegally parked alongside her he got out of his truck and started circling the young mother's car looking for a disabled parking placard an altercation ensued after 20 seconds with witnesses inside the store reporting they heard a loud and aggressive argument between a male and a female Marquis exited the store 75 seconds after the start of the confrontation approached Drake a-- and forcibly pushed him to the ground exactly 2.5 seconds after that while still on the ground Drake up pulled out a 40 caliber Glock pistol and fired a single round at marquis who then ran back into the store and collapsed in front of his son paramedics arrived within 19 minutes and rushed him to the Morton plant hospital he was pronounced dead at 4:04 p.m. CCTV footage captured the entire incident following the shooting Drakkar reportedly put the gun in his SUV as he waited for law enforcement to arrive he cooperated with deputies at the scene as he was placed in handcuffs and then transported to the North District station for further questioning hey Michael how you doing now I'm detective Upton left hand left hand Kim sorry to have to beat you under these stressful circumstances as well yeah hey I'm not the this is detective shields I'm sorry yo nice to meet you sir I'm not the case agent in this I'm a detective in the same unit the case agent and the assistant case agent that that makes any sense to you are gonna come speak to you in just a few moments okay of course before any of us speak to you and try to go into any kind of details about anything or anything like that I'd like to read you your rights oh you familiar with your rights or any of the rice okay the reason we wanted to do that first you know of course you know we don't want to talk to you about anything again the case agents are gonna come in here in just a few moments it's my understanding that your your vehicle is still now the problem is that the store I thought my house okay that's fine okay oh we have it all cordoned off and safe and all that kind of stuff come over I never have it's my story I go in there every day you guys just look around the corner right around the corner okay would you be willing to give us consent to go inside your vehicle and just for documentation purposes and that kind of thing it's gonna be two other guys not quite as handsome as me but they'll go be in here just a minute okay hey corner they make George Moffett this is going but you remember each other have you been sitting for a while okay three and right now my name's George wafak artist here had the pile stand Sheriff's Office North District station today's dates July 19 2018 we just want to talk to your reference today's shooting just go through your your kind of day like right before you get this floor what do you live edited 1116 Java Street are you employed sir no sir retired okay good for you man you mind if I call you Michael oh good okay call me George so just walk through you you leave your house need read up to the store no I was coming back from Missouri Missouri so you get this floor tell me kind of walk me through with it I parked my car and this is the second time he has said this it could be argued that he's already trying to give his version of events some form of reinforced vindication before he even states them by it being his store and him being there every day he is designating himself as some form of protector or guardian thus characterizing his actions as pure and his logic behind them of pure intent did any guys spot they're just waiting on somebody okay yeah I have a pet thing about it I'm sure Mike said do you mind you know moving there's a spot next door there's spots out front waiting on somebody yes so you walk up to her car I said was walking around okay okay does I parked here as she was she okay okay so I just took four placards play a simple man and she enquired about whatever what was going on okay that's why I told her yeah what did you tell her this is not very polite to park here when there's other people who need to use this she says it affecting you directly I said that my mother from all roles in yes he loved me so you know I was nothing it was none of that between us all okay no no it was just heated words that's all well I was speaking to her I guess she said I said well what's gonna happen then and a little more arguing back and forth and I never saw what it she was the drummer what she was in the car listen tell me where's our unity but it also particularly knows I'm starting to hook up and see thoroughly alright so you guys were talking yeah exactly she's out of the car by this time focus gaming thanks to her that's all okay and I got hit from the left side straight backwards in line with her car okay you sold us if you sell the two white ladder lines next thing that's where I was standing oh go straight back after I got hit what do you mean then standing like just talking to her but I was hit from right here the shoulders pulled in front of me and then I was okay then hit the ground okay okay I'm pretty sure well kids let me take pictures of all I'm not very bad that see much but I'm I'm pretty sure I did my wrists under my gun actually that's how I landed cuz that's like a [ __ ] now she laid on my oh yeah okay I was on the ground so that time I had to put hand down to get hand out from underneath as I come out I start on my weapon as I start my weapon makes his next step towards me and the so called 21-foot rule stems from what is known as the tool ur drill a self-defense training exercise to prepare against a short-range knife or melee attack when armed only with a holstered handgun the idea is that by the time an individual determines a deadly threat draws their firearm and fires the attacker will have already closed up to 21 feet in distance this reinforces the idea that one should have their hand gun drawn and ready to engage at a target if they're within that distance yet what Drakkar left out is that this training exercise puts a strong emphasis on the fact that the attacker must have a weapon in their hands that is the key component if one is to use this rule as a justification to immediately engage with deadly force the ground already right okay it happened so fast and that was that they same thing- not a word okay do you say anything to him no it could be assumed that the suspects frantic response was because he felt threatened by the question put yourself in his position but assume that you knew without question that you were in the right and there was no other option than to fire upon the attacker when posed the completely logical question such as this you would take a moment to grasp and incorporate its principle this is because you would have no need to be in a defensive state of mind you would feel no threat and it's human nature to be inquisitive and curious about matters related to our own decision-making it's how we grow as people yet if we are in a defensive state of mind this natural curiosity would be overlooked as our focus would be projected outward toward the perceptions of others rather than inward toward our own in this instance it could be argued that Drake has immediate response void of any contemplation whatsoever is him trying to insinuate that he felt so threatened by the attacker that even the thought of giving any sort of a warning is an illogical concept it's a variant of the emotional response known as appeal to extremes left around for support okay he made a step towards me and that was that how many steps did he make - just one step okay and then that was telling me talk to me about that what do you do from there I make sure there's no other threat around me because I hung him a little bit he ran into the store media threat darling I did have her potential on me before him before you fired to come say ask me the question before you fired the gun yes once you pull the gun out yes okay you said he stepped towards you yeah cuz I don't know more step or Ebay one more step towards me and then what do you know I didn't say a word but that was already out okay what do you do for a living how many time you fire okay so you fire the weapon and then basically just scan I ended up standing up and so all the threats from Clery holster my weapon okay alright so we didn't come back hatchet again or anything we not after he left or did he go into the store okay did you strike him no no I mean with the gun no I don't know I assume so yes because there was an ambulance there okay so you don't know if you know I know I know nothing but I would assume so okay all right so what do you do talk to me from there after you Reagle severe 11 plan tyree holster my weapon everything's clear somebody's screaming about her kids so much agreement about her kids somebody thought they were in a car I don't like I said there was inside you know see if he can get her to unlock the car kids okay what do you do from the after you hear somebody talking about her kids is everything so why ask one person to go you know see if she can unlock her car from the inside of that I decided to extricate myself and the situation completely engine back to my vehicle wait for you so I took miles or I took my firearm out and loaded it locked it left it in the car wait well you flaming you like the back yes okay okay did you look mad or anything like that or no go ahead just what it was in the bike I'm gonna we're gonna kind of slow it down a little bit and kind of in because I want to be asked these specific questions about them about the ins and again just like you you know you were just be truthful with me and just because we got there kind of thought our eyes and cross your T's exactly what happened I know you kind of went through a little faster later so we're going to just go back a little bit is that okay all right appreciate it so you exit your vehicle right like you always do and you get ready to walk in the store yeah and what what do you see from there in front of the car when I have to walk by the car so you approach the navel oh okay and your intentions on walking around the cars to look for placards toys yeah okay well what do you know you take pictures if there's you know okay you take pictures if you don't see no placards or gonna take okay or do you normally look for placards license plate windshield and the front okay see if there's a front license plate or anything when you approach the vehicle was the drive did you make eye contact with the driver I couldn't see the job the windows research talk okay was in the car right so her window wasn't rolled down the drivers are not okay so you start walking around in the car and I walk from the front to the back and then I took pictures I just you know we should even want to go and keep going he states that the altercation started once the driver rolled down her window yet the surveillance says otherwise the prosecution stated that the suspect spotted the driver through the windshield and engaged with her at this moment the window then comes down at this moment was the car running I couldn't tell me it's so white okay these damn cars so then when you come back around is the window rolled down at that point no only after I get back up in front and she don't my way into the store is he asked me you know so she rolls are one of them yesterday do you make verbal contact with her first or machine a verbal contact with me okay so she asks you one what are you doing up yeah I guess I'm looking for handicapped placards okay so when you when you when she rolled her window down she says hey you know what are you doing how far are you away from the car to the front of car okay so you're standing at the front yeah that's front of the car which is where you on the sidewalk yeah okay so you're on the sidewalk yeah I'm not exactly in front of a car love a sidewalk at the front okay so after you start talking to her do you approach the driver's side of the car yeah so how far you approach the you may be wondering why they are asking such specific questions when the entire incident was captured on surveillance yet they are not asking for the purpose of gathering facts they are asking to see if the suspect will amend the facts to fit with his own narrative anything he fabricates can be used against him especially during cross-examination to negate his credibility [Music] and recover anything hopefully you can't smell my breath so how can you show me how far let's say I'm hurt how far did you come up there by the window okay so a couple feet yeah I'm not gonna encourage into our car all right so you guys are bickering back and forth next thing you know you get pushed on puts nothing attacker blindsided you okay I'm on the ground hard so he shoved you pretty good no we got you for what it felt like is he come running at me okay like full force and I ever been hit like that since I was in my 20s okay all right so he shoves you to the ground you fall to the ground correct okay slightly he's not very slightly okay you hit your head don't know don't feel anything okay so you don't know if he's sideways like this okay and you reach over to distract my hand to push yourself back push myself up love with that and as I'm reaching him fooling around he's standing in front of me as I come up he's taking this step towards me okay now let's discuss that if you don't mind could you sit over there for me I don't want you to hurt so you're on the ground right yes okay how far is the guideway front of the car he's at the front of the car from him so he's on that Sidewalk kind of kerberion no he's in front of the car off the sidewalk okay right on the end you got it so how far do you think he's away from you I might have been right at the edge of the back of the front door of the car correct okay so he's up by the front tire he's up by the front tires not further than that for the thinnest okay I was back further about he had to okay so he's about this far yeah maybe even further and as I come up this way because I have to come up with my hand all right I bring the gun out with me and as I'm coming back this way it won't I can't support it so I hit this okay what does he do hate that's and I come out I guess he's taking his step okay taking a step taking his steps towards me okay so let's look at the footage the suspect is shoved to the ground as he described this is the moment he reaches for his gun mark he sees this and starts backing up Marquis takes three and a half steps back and two and a half seconds go by Draco then fires his weapon how close does he get to you before you fire the gun maybe to the front tire so it's show me where tell me when to stop okay so right here yeah okay was he charging after you two steps running Wow okay okay so you're thinking he's gonna come kick you I'm thinking he's coming to do the rest of it did you see him with a firearm no sure I didn't see anything okay what do you mean the rest of it he just asserted that he thought kicks or a beating was coming if he had spoken with a lawyer he would have been advised to not only state but put considerable emphasis on the fact that he believed that his life was in danger he would have essentially been told to say that it was either his life or the attackers and that there wasn't a shred of doubt in his mind that he would have been killed had he not fired his weapon in self-defense even without the surveillance footage to refute his version of the altercation these statements alone would be extremely damning in a court of law from the get-go what else should I expect okay alright so you're on the ground you said he was running at you but he only took like a step he would clear do you know cleared that and come around towards me again like a second foot okay so we the only made he only made one step he barely made the second step before I pulled the trigger okay what kind of gonna be a Glock 23 okay why do you think that's gonna be because I just got blindsided out of nowhere why what else what I think all of his Desmond's yeah I thought you never been in that situation before first thing I think if I'm getting hit like at somebody's coming at me for more okay what did the female does the female just started screaming was she doing the core around the out of the car okay she's screaming that she just shot him or not pretty sure yeah okay and you just hear her screaming okay oh my fantastic many more because I moved away from her she's not a threat to me anymore okay alright let me ask you a question you mentioned early that you asked was stuff about video stuff like that correct that there were do you think the video would show him target or what soon okay there should be an angle right on that parking spot okay what happens if I told you that I've looked at the video and then no timing point does he come running up towards you he actually takes a step back I would disagree okay I'm just asking okay I would disagree in a heartbeat okay alright so you said after he runs in the store and stuff like that did you seem to get hit yo you know yeah I absolutely didn't come from no mommy asked where do you work off yeah but did she she walks around the vehicle does she go anywhere do you see her go anywhere she went to the front of the store she was inside for a while then she got into moved her car okay so she came back outside the store she did did you guys have any discussion you know I said to her was somebody's trying to see if you've got keys for your children okay did when the gentleman before you fired again did he make any threats toward you I've never heard a word okay so he didn't say I'm gonna kick your ass I never heard a word of anything let me let's kind of back up because I'm just trying to understand excuse me before you shoot him okay and he had already shot you right you said you thought he was going to come kick you and basically finish the job yeah okay did you hear him make any statements Maggie have you never made a word okay like I'm popping them I never said a word until I fired but then you never said a word when he dumped me either right so you never said okay so you guys don't have any table I barely even saw the man no I mean after you were on the ground you're trying to get to your sidearm no talks between us okay well you don't ask him what the hell dude why did you push me he doesn't make any statements I'm gonna come kick your ass now negative is a word so he made no threats that he was gonna come finish his job was an assumption definitely okay so you just assumed he was gonna come do that any smart person would yeah okay I get it I understand so and then you shoulda just one time correct one time sir okay and then we just neutralize it neutralize and that's there's no reason what do you mean can you elaborate what you mean neutralized neutralized the immediate threat okay and then that's it I don't know reason to go overboard I'm your wife shirt okay thank you and then people I shoot to save my own ass and that's that okay do you understand that me do you does ever go through your mind that where you're going and target is people informing them of them being parking hanging that spot that they might not take that right and then why go sideways a little bit well sure but that's why he has just stated that he was fully aware beforehand that a serious altercation could have arisen from his actions and then justified these actions on the grounds that he was carrying a weapon he has essentially just tried to condone the provocation of a potential violent encounter because he was protected showing no consideration for the safety and well-being of others it could be argued that he gave no thought to the potential harm said provocation could cause anyone apart from himself approaching so we use the term approaches that it in front in the car do you actually came from if you go up to somebody and approach them they could take that as being confrontational you can't make them confrontation but if you want something you approach them about me park in a handicap spot do you think you'd be willing to do that take that risk if you didn't take these precautions vision erect I've been carrying that most of my adult life so I can't really answer that in a way that would satisfy and we should approach these people he didn't once again I don't know I yeah okay but I wouldn't know because like I said I think you always Gary I've always carried fire okay since how long how long are you carrying it I was 22 okay for you it will say on the video i watch the video whatever and he he doesn't approach you or make any steps towards you like you indicated okay so you saw him come toward you yes sir okay what happens if he if he didn't come towards you would you still fire around there's no reason so if he's retreating then I don't mean to use my firearm what if easier stand still is my firearm he has just removed a potentially strong argument from a defense team upon reviewing the surveillance footage the defense could have asserted that the defendant was still in considerable fear of his life even though the suspect was retreating this could have further asserted the argument that his actions were not the result of malignant anger but rather the result of irrational fear did you see when you saw this guy after you see well I saw was a man trying to do me what was in doing you just I have no clue okay were you able to see him for you guys things I didn't see his hands per se and I didn't see his face at all I don't know what he looks like could you see of legs was feet anything like I might have seen his legs I know it was a black guy that's it I'm gonna woody his arms I might or could see anything he was doing other than watching his feet watching his hips all right so if he was standing still you were to see no reason to no surveyor okay if he hadn't twist I never would have pulled a trigger when that gun was out did you make the decision to shoot when you pulled the gun out or was that you mean afterwards nagging decision hi man soon as you moved okay do you remember having time to think and promise I only time to sink but you having the neck done without that the twitch goes that's it okay but you said you actually pulled the gun out before you made the decision to shoot right intercept at well I'm not pulling it out with the intention of pulling the trigger okay okay if I come up on target I need I need to shoot up shooting you would have pulled that gun between the time you pulled that gun if you put on your back you pull that gun and you had a lot of them if he would have been standstill do you think I triggered when it got pulled no did you have time to really look at him and tell that he was coming towards you the feet said he was coming towards me and sending the hips what kind of which was it into its right foot comes around this way like he's going to come break guys that car thing and that was that how much time you think it was between when you pulled that gun out with you I doubt the whole chair I don't know how much time that seemed like it seemed like a split second okay all right Michael um we'll be right back so we spoke before I'm detective shields in the Sheriff's Office we're here to do a buccal swab which is a swabbing of your cheeks if you consent to it we're going to go over a consent form here these are our forensics technicians forensic specialists that work here of the sheriff's office and they're going to get some overall stove I see where were your injuries yeah we can take the shirt this is basically the end as far as noticeable injuries everything else is just muscular and on the inside okay so as far as the only visible one that's it what does that say in your tattoo Matt mrs. sadness he's hurt hurt her initials were sa D minor and a DS thank you Michael I'm sorry man you good on water or stuff like that like we just wanted to talk to you 20 steel up a few things and go over a few more things was that all right just to go over just kind of clarify things far away so in regards to the incident at the store you had mentioned early on when I was talking to you about after he shoved you okay and you felt through them around me no well I mean I showed is somebody standing in front of somebody pushing their arms out sorry just felt like I was run at and tackle okay all right so after he tackles here or whatever in your in your words you fall to the ground correct very good example words in your mouth and then you know you're going on getting your firearm out because of what reason no I fell okay but your your organ I'm trying to get your firearm out I had to drying it out from under me for what reason though if I don't you had just been blindsided with no idea who was attacking in which air fire me I think you made probably so I'm you know I don't know it's hard for me to make that that's exactly it's an opinion okay so you thought that's training okay when you looked up and you see him what would he what's going through your mind what's going through my mind okay so do what what what did you think he was going denticles thinking he's going to finish what the hell he just started okay and and to you like what are you what do you mean kind of elaborate a little bit on the finishing I have no clue because he didn't do anything right I can't elaborate on something I don't know about what do you think he was gonna do no clue come after me again about it what he would have done is just pure conjecture did you think think he was maybe gonna get physical with you sure okay and a fair fight you think you think negative I do not fight never have been a fighter never these statements were used by the prosecution to further assert his lack of consideration for the safety and well-being of others as he stated earlier he was aware that his decision to approach the vehicle could have resulted in an altercation potentially a violent one yet he has just confirmed that he has no hand-to-hand fighting experience or training whatsoever meaning that his boldness in the situation solely came from the fact that he was armed with a deadly weapon thus making him highly inclined to using it when far less force would have sufficed the prosecution essentially stated that he was willing to kill in order to prevent himself from getting moderately hurt in the situation that he initiated I mean what do you finish the job what do you mean I have no clue what he started and what his endgame was right okay I was in the dark about that so that makes me believe to myself I need a force multiplier because I don't know what's going on what do you mean a force multiplier what exactly what you know in force multiplier no sir I know that if I did I don't I really don't force multipliers a sidearm anything other than your hand okay all right some type of web force multiplier you know terminology that we don't I learned it from your letter I learned it from the copy I I seriously didn't know what that meant and I just want to tell you this you know just let you know the gentleman you shot his deceased okay you got any questions for me or anything the stand your ground thing and I did exactly what I thought I was supposed to be doing at that time considering what was happening to myself was there I don't think I have anything else to say it's alright approximate time is about 2200 hours Draco was released without charge as the investigation was ongoing but was arrested 25 days later on August 13th and charged with a single count of manslaughter during those 25 days Draco was named as the accused aggressor and for prior road incidents ranging from 2012 to 2018 where he threatened drivers with a gun two were male two were female including a young mother with two children in the car he was interviewed by WTSP 18 days after his arrest I just want you to tell me about yourself okay pretty much everyday person with average problems I would suppose moving troubles take me back to I'm gonna call it that day what kind of morning did you have July 19th but were you working were you walking the dogs were you I don't think this is really the right place to go into specifics about that day well I wasn't talking about the actual incident of the shooting I was just saying what your day was like a cup of coffee every day tell me really nothing that saw the wife off to work yeah nothing too surprising out of any of it everybody involved with this case a lot of people involved with this case have spoken up the sheriff has spoken out the prosecution has spoken out the McLaughlin's have spoken out al Sharpton has spoken out and we felt that it was necessary to hear from the person at the center of this case the McLaughlin's have been very very hard and descriptive about you as a person is there something is there something that you could say to them that might give some clarity about who you are or how you feel I really don't think this is the right place to to talk to the family directly right how many dogs yeah then what kind are they Sherman's Chuck it seems like this is striking a chord with you yeah I don't miss my girls miss my girls oh all of them yeah is there anything in your mind that would change now that you have a chance to look back is there anything you would change with what happened how it happened is there anything that you would change or I'm sure you had time to think about this sure I've had plenty of time to think about it but as far as changing anything is the offense right is it what you're what I don't see I really did no not off the top of my head don't go people that have come down to speak about the events and things of that nature and they get the feeling that there might be a racial overtone to this incident there's almost no way that number one my my upbringing really right prevents that from coming out of me ever my parents went that way you know it was always trying to get along with everybody green eggs and ham well everybody's different and I grew up during desegregation not segregation okay so it's not like a you know was sheltered from but from other from other cultures or races you know from a very young age and my professional isn't beyond that prevents me from saying stuff like that anyway so I can look you in the right now and ask you yes if you are racist what would be your end so there's some do not hate black I do not hate anybody he was released from jail one month after this interview on $100,000 bond his trial began on August 19th of 2019 one of the most high-profile trials in the Bay Area will officially get underway Michael Drake his attorney will argue that Drake a fatally shot Marquis McLaughlin in self-defense ABC action news reporter Jasmine Stiles joins us live now from Clearwater with a breakdown of the jury at 8:45 this morning prosecutors and the defense will give their opening statements to six jurors we know that they are mostly white and none of those jurors are black it took about two days to whittle down the large pool of potential jurors and watch this reaction when he finds out in the interview the mr. McLaughlin had expired he's not celebrating he's not proud he's not happy that shows you that it wasn't his intention or his desire to taking him in life he did what he thought he had to do in the moment and split-second timing given that he was attacked it's not a high definition video you heard their own experts say was standard definition we don't even know the age of the cameras that capture the images clearly it's not the best images and we heard about this compression artifact you're gonna see that there's some wavy lines when you watch the video in the deliberation room you're gonna see this little jumping little wavy lines over the shoulder of mr. McLaughlin at one point on the grill of one of the cars at one point so it's not completely representative of what occurred and it's certainly not high-definition representative color seems to be off very very low color you heard the store owners say that mr. Drake who came in every day he didn't know he carried a weapon mr. Drake he never said hey I got a gun I carry a firearm had no idea and how did you describe mr. Drake oh he said he was always called and in this video interview he's call seems a little depressed called he doesn't seem proud or excited or anything like that very calm everyone that described him said he was calm cooperative a nice guy he had no time to think had no time to analyze the situation he was attacked he was blindsided he says that listen to him in his interview those clips the state didn't play to you so I just hope that as you go back and deliberate on this extremely fundamentally important constitutional issues remember we live in America mr. Drake is presumed not guilty unless the state is able to overcome that presumption by evidence and testimony we respectfully submit to you that that has not occurred in this case that there is reasonable doubt common sense tells you that you know how divisive this case is mr. Draco did what he thought was necessary to terminate a threat a clear threat against his life and as I said when you go back and talk about it ask yourself if mr. Draco hadn't pulled the gun and fired what would have happened to mr. Draco mr. Draco was the victim here that's the sad part the victim the true victim has become the defendant in a very serious criminal case his life and Liberty are at stake here on your decision think it through one man is already gone we want to take another man's life away from him on this kind of evidence when there's this kind of doubt in the case thank you for your time what we have to do is the state of Florida is proved beyond a reasonable doubt that that defendant committed the crime of manslaughter now what is a reasonable doubt here is a a story that I tell in closing arguments middlee it might sound silly but it's to demonstrate what is and what is not a reasonable doubt so let's say that you're walking your dog at night and it's Florida of course and you hear some thunder you see some lightning you smell the rain you go to bed you wake up water everywhere okay beyond the reasonable doubt has been proven that it rained now is it possible is it possible that a helicopter went over the neighborhood go into some forest fire dump the bucket of water over the neighborhood is it possible the sun's not gonna rise okay but that's not reasonable based on the evidence the evidence is there was thunder there was lightning the smell of rain when you look at all that it's been proven beyond the reasonable doubt that it rained and one of the most important things that you do not leave when you come into a courtroom is your common sense so common sense tells you that it rained now can you speculate this so let's say that you have some kids in the neighborhood let's say there's three kids you got Allisyn you got ELISA and you got Timmy okay and Timmy's the terrible one in the neighborhood and he is the Super Soaker gun and he likes to spray that Super Soaker gun everywhere now can you speculate that he took that super soaker gun went all around the neighborhood when you were sleeping and sprayed water everywhere well sure because you can speculate about anything but is that reasonable based on the evidence thunder lightning smell of rain absolutely not that's not reasonable so when you look at the evidence now the evidence in this case came from that witness stand and it's from all the exhibits up there when you look at the whole day we've proven beyond a reasonable doubt that that defendants guilty of manslaughter to prove the crime of manslaughter the state must prove the following two elements beyond a reasonable doubt number one Marquis McLaughlin is dead no issue with that unfortunately number two Michael Dracut intentionally committed an act that caused the death of Marquess mcLaughlin okay so did he intentionally shoot him yes the way this case has been framed for you is whether or not this defendant was justified in shooting Marquis McLaughlin but I'm gonna frame it a little differently because based on the evidence and really here's the million-dollar question we've heard so much evidence okay but here's the million-dollar question you need to ask yourself was this defendant justified and shooting a man that came out to protect his family while he's retreating while he was unarmed that's the million-dollar question it was the most perfect shot he could take hit him right here traveled through his lung through his heart rested on the other side the most perfect shot he could take didn't hit him in the toe foot knee calf thigh stomach the most perfect shot did he reasonably believed as Marquis McLaughlin was backing up and turning to go into the store that he was about to die because that's what the instruction says did the defendant reasonably believe he was going to die as Michael McLaughlin backs away when that firearm comes out did the defendant reasonably believe he was about to suffer great bodily harm was he about to be beaten to a pulp as Michael McLaughlin went backwards was he about to die was this defendant about to die or be beaten to a pulp when he took the first step back absolutely not what about the second step back absolutely not he's getting farther but what about the third step back absolutely not what about when he turns to go to the store absolutely not and when you look at those still photographs you'll see that Michael Michael optins foot is facing where he wants to go and the only reason his eyes are on that defendant is because he's looking at the firearm that's about to kill him his entire body is saying I give up I'm leaving and pay attention to this which I'm sure you already have when the defendants on the ground you could see both Robert Castelli and Michael McLaughlin start to move before the gun comes out they both simultaneously recognize that he's pulling a firearm and before that gun is even out Michael McLaughlin is retreating watch the video you'll see it and when the guns out he's in full retreat and he can't go back any farther because that car is there and that's when he takes his turn to go to the store that's exactly what you see on the video Michael McLaughlin is reacting perfectly to what happened now can you argue that the defendant could have pulled out that firearm absolutely we can even say that he was justified in pulling the gun but that was it there was no reason for him to shoot and kill Michael McLaughlin it was over when that gun came out so arguably was he right and poorly thought out sure but could he have killed him no because he wasn't about to die he's holding a firearm he's holding the weapon that ends the whole thing how could he reasonably believe he was about to die he didn't that's why it's not justifiable use of deadly force you know what Marquis McLaughlin is guilty of he's guilty of loving and trying to protect his family and he died because of it the defendant is guilty of manslaughter thank you state of Florida versus Michael drinka case number one eight zero nine eight five one cf as to the charge of manslaughter we the jury find as follows as to the defendant in this case the defendant is guilty of manslaughter as charged Michael Drake his sentencing date is set for October 10th 2019 the prosecution have asked for the maximum sentence of 30 years in prison

Channel: undefined

Views: 3,494,301

Rating: 4.8194475 out of 5

Keywords: police interrogation, self-defense, forensic psychology, criminology, law school

Id: sv0iN5J-9mk

Length: 51min 26sec (3086 seconds)

Published: Tue Oct 08 2019

Reddit Comments

[u/boosnie]

Tl;dw?

[u/MinionSympathizer]

Jim Can’t Swim produces some really great content on criminal psychology and interrogation techniques, would recommend.

[u/Tsunami_shrimp]

He just got beat up in prison too iirc

[u/Valtand]

Yes it was long but also very interesting. Shows that you have to be careful weather you’re the one with the gun or the one without it

[u/[deleted]]

I was like, so like 8-10 minutes long?

Man my standards for long videos are different if this is just long, this is a huge video.

[u/sailor-venus-in-furs]

I love JCS videos!

[u/donttrippotatochipv2]

Guess I’ll have to check this out after work

[u/bunnycrime]

all JCS videos tend to be very long but all are incredibly interesting watches. this particular video is unique from his other ones i think

[u/Brian-Lail]

Nobody! Pushes me without a knuckle up! Pull a weapon, your fault!!