CLEARWATER, Fla. -- The 47-year-old man charged with manslaughter in the shooting death of a Clearwater man remains behind bars and made his first court apperance Tuesday.
Michael Drejka, charged in the July shooting of Markeis McGlockton, remains jailed under $100,000 bond. Should he post bond, he must surrender firearms, wear a tracking device and not leave Pinellas County, and have no contact with the McGlockton family.
- Aug. 8: Stand Your Ground: Critics demand Gov. Scott suspend controversial law
- Aug. 1: Markeis McGlockton shooting case turned over to State Attorney's Office
- July 28: Friends and family gather at Markeis McGlockton's funeral
McGlockton's family packed the courtroom Tuesday, while Drejka appeared via monitor. He was wearing an orange jumpsuit and flanked by two deputies.
Markeis McGlockton, 28, died in the July 19 shooting.
"Now I can tell my kids, now the police do got the bad man," said McGlockton's girlfriend, Britany Jacobs.
Jacobs was taking one of her children to school Monday when the manslaughter charge was announced.
"I still answer their questions of when daddy is going to wake up. And all i can tell them is daddy is resting right now," Jacobs said.
Drejka has been charged with manslaughter, not murder and that's an important distinction, not just in the punishment should Drejka be convicted - but it also is a lower bench mark in court for prosecutors to prove.
Surveillance video showed McGlockton shoving Drejka, 47, to the ground after Drejka confronted Jacobs for parking in a handicapped spot outside the Circle A Food Store on Sunset Point.
Drejka shot McGlockton in response in front of his three young children. McGlockton later died of that wound.
Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said after the shooting that it met the guidelines of a stand your ground case.
Just because Drejka has been charged, it doesn't necessarily mean it's the last time stand your ground will come up. His attorneys could motion for the case to be dismissed because of stand your ground.
A public defender will be appointed for Drejka, who told the court he could not afford his own.