New reports show Michael Drejka, the gunman in a deadly Clearwater ‘Stand Your Ground’ shooting case, has had previous road rage encounters.
On Dec. 13 2012, a Largo police officer was driving on Highland Avenue when a 4-door sedan with at least four people inside pulled up next to him.
The female driver told the officer that a man in a black Toyota pickup truck had just held a gun up to her.
The officer made a U-turn and followed Drejka into a church parking lot.
Police said Drejka had his driver’s license and concealed weapon’s permit in his hand before the officer even spoke to him.
Before the officer could ask Drejka any questions, he blurted out that he had not pointed a gun at the other car and they were lying.
The officer responded, “So you have some idea why I’m here.”
Drejka told the officer he did have a firearm and that he kept it between the driver seat and the center console.
“Where I keep it when driving,” Drejka said.
Detectives recovered a 40-caliber gun with a loaded magazine lying on the floor and a loose bullet near the gas pedal.
Drejka told investigators he honked his horn at the driver in the sedan because he did not think she was going fast enough.
Police said they were in a school zone and the speed was 15 mph.
Drejka said a passenger in the car flipped him the middle finger out of the sunroof. Later, a male passenger opened the rear door, looked back at Drejka and said something.
According to the report, when the officer asked what was said, Drejka contorted his face, while doing a Spanish accent, “You got a gun in your truck, you got a gun in your truck.”
The officer said it was an odd thing to say to someone who had not shown a gun to them.
The officer told Drejka he did not believe his story and his permit did not give him the right to show his gun because he was flipped off.
Drejka was not arrested because the victim drove off.
On Nov. 13, 2013, a Florida Highway Patrol trooper responded to crash on Palm Harbor Boulevard and Florida Avenue after a driver rear-ended Drejka’s truck.
According to the report, a woman pulled into the center lane to travel north on Palm Harbor Boulevard. She was waiting for Drejka to pass.
Drejka told troopers he felt the driver was about to hit him as she was pulling out.
Troopers said Drejka slammed on his brakes several times in an aggressive manner in front of the driver. Once they approached Pennsylvania Avenue, Drejka again slammed on his brakes and the driver struck the rear of his truck.
Drejka told troopers he slowed down because he missed his turn into the driveway of a store.
Troopers said he admitted to brake-checking the driver because he was upset with her. Drejka was cited for stopping or sudden decrease in speed without signaling.
On Jan. 10, 2012, a Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office report included allegations by two teenagers that Drejka flashed a handgun at them during a road rage incident on Sunset Point Road and US 19.
Deputies found a gun in Drejka’s car, but he flatly denied brandishing it at the teens. The teens did not press charges.
Drejka shot and killed Markeis McGlockton on July 19, during a dispute over a handicap parking spot.
Patrons at the Circle A said Drejka has a history of harassing customers who parked in the handicap spot.
Truck driver Richard Kelly said two months ago, he got into a dispute over the same handicap space that lead to McGlockton’s fatal shooting.
Kelly said he saw a hateful side of Drejka.
“He was basically threatening to shoot me that day,” said Richard Kelly. “But I didn’t think nothing of it. I mean like he called me the ‘n’ word and stuff like that.”
