Man accused of hate crime in killing of gay man claims self-defense
TAMPA, Fla. — A Florida man charged with a hate crime for killing a gay man is asking a judge to dismiss the charges, saying he acted in self-defense.
Gerald Radford testified Friday that he feared for his own life when he shot John “Walt” Lay at a dog park in Tampa on Feb. 2.
Local news media report that Radford testified that Lay punched him repeatedly in the face just before the shooting.
“I don’t know if I told him to stop or not, but he didn’t stop,” Radford testified during a hearing before Hillsborough Circuit Judge Samantha Ward.
Radford is charged with second-degree murder. Prosecutors are seeking additional hate crime sentences if Radford is convicted.
Defense attorneys cited Florida’s stand your ground law in seeking immunity from prosecution. Such laws say people have no duty to retreat before using deadly force if they believe they are defending themselves from a violent crime.
Prosecutors dispute Radford’s account. Several witnesses testified Friday that Radford had harassed Lay for months before the shooting, repeatedly making homophobic comments. Prosecutors presented recorded jailhouse telephone conversations in which Radford used a homophobic slur to describe Lay after his arrest.
Paul Gumpert, a friend of Lay’s, testified that it was not in Lay’s character to be the aggressor, describing Lay as “very gentle and very dismissive of any pressure on him.”
Lay shared a video claiming Radford threatened him the day before the dog park shooting. In the video, Lay claimed that he met with Radford in the park and that Radford told him, “You’re going to die.”
Radford acknowledged that he had used slander against Lay. But he told Assistant State’s Attorney Justin Diaz during questioning that he treated Lay differently “because of the way he treated me” and not because of his sexual orientation.
Defense attorneys pointed to a text message Lay sent after the video as evidence that he planned to attack Radford. Lay wrote in part that he would “try to tackle” Radford if he blocked his path again. Besides, he wrote, “this weekend should be a drama.”
In response to questions from defense attorney Matthew Futch, Radford, 66, said Lay, 52, had “completely” overpowered him.
“If you had not drawn your firearm to defend yourself, do you believe you would have suffered great bodily harm or death?” Fuch asked.
Radford tearfully answered yes.
But prosecutors said there was no scuffle before the shooting. They said the trajectory of the bullet through Lay’s body, as tracked by an autopsy, contradicts Radford’s claim that Lay was on top of him.
Hillsborough County Chief Medical Examiner Kelly Devers testified that it would be “difficult” for a bullet to follow the path it would if Lay had been lying or kneeling on Radford.
Diaz argued that there are inconsistencies in Radford’s account. “It’s a hate crime,” Diaz said.
Ward said she will rule on the stand-your-ground motion next week.