A Florida man accused of a hate crime for killing a gay man has asked a judge to dismiss the charges, claiming he acted in self-defense.
Gerald Radford testified on Friday that he shot John “Walt” Lay in a Tampa dog park on February 2 out of concern for his own life.
Local news outlets report. Radford testified that Lay continuously punched him in the face just before the shooting.
“I don’t know if I told him to stop or not, but he wasn’t stopping,” Radford stated during a hearing before Hillsborough Circuit Judge Samantha Ward.
Radford was charged with second-degree murder. If Radford is found guilty of hate crimes, prosecutors intend to pursue further punishment.
Defense attorneys claimed Florida’s stand-your-ground law to seek immunity from prosecution. Such rules state that persons have no obligation to retreat before employing deadly force if they believe they are defending themselves against a violent crime.
Prosecutors reject Radford’s account. Several witnesses testified on Friday that Radford had harassed Lay for months before the shooting, repeatedly using homophobic slurs. Prosecutors showed recordings of jail phone calls in which Radford used a homophobic term to describe Lay following his detention.
Lay’s buddy, Paul Gumpert, testified that being the aggressor was not in his character, describing Lay as “very mild-mannered and very dismissive of any pressure against him.”
Lay posted a video alleging Radford threatened him at the dog park the day before the incident. In the video, Lay claimed he saw Radford at the park and that Radford told him, “You’re going to die.”
Radford admitted using slurs against Lay. Under interrogation, he informed Assistant State Attorney Justin Diaz that he treated Lay differently because “of the way he treated me” rather than because of his gay orientation.
Defense attorneys cited a text message Lay sent after the video as proof that he intended to attack Radford. Lay stated that if Radford continued to impede his route, he would “try to tackle” him. In addition, he stated, “This weekend should be drama.”
In response to queries from defense counsel Matthew Futch, Radford, 66, claimed that Lay, 52, had “completely” overpowered him.
“Had you not drawn your firearm to defend yourself, do you believe you would have suffered great bodily harm or death?” Futch asked.
Radford, crying, said yes.
However, prosecutors argued the route of the bullet through Lay’s body, as revealed by an autopsy, renders it implausible that Lay was on top of Radford when he was shot, as Radford maintains.
Hillsborough County Chief Medical Examiner Kelly Devers said that it would be “hard” for a bullet to travel the distance it did if Lay had been lying or kneeling on Radford.
Diaz stated that Radford’s narrative contains discrepancies. “It’s a hate crime,” Diaz explained.
Ward announced that she will decide on the stand-your-ground motion next week.
Reference: Florida man accused of hate crime in deadly shooting of gay man claims self-defense
