Florida man charged with hate crime in fatal shooting of gay man claims self-defense

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — A Florida man charged with a hate crime for killing a gay man asked 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 Tampa dog park on Feb. 2.

Local media reports that Radford testified that Lay repeatedly punched him 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 in a hearing before Hillsborough Circuit Judge Samantha Ward.

Radford is charged with second-degree murder. Prosecutors are seeking additional hate crime penalties if Radford is convicted.

Defense attorneys cited Florida stand your ground law to request immunity from prosecution. Those laws state that people have no duty to retreat before using deadly force when they believe they are defending themselves from a violent crime.

Prosecutors dispute Radford’s story. Several witnesses testified Friday that Radford had harassed Lay for months before the shooting, repeatedly using homophobic slurs. Prosecutors presented recorded jailhouse phone calls in which Radford used a homophobic slur to describe Lay after his arrest.

Paul Gumpert, a friend of Lay, testified that it was not in Lay’s character to be the aggressor, and described Lay as “very mild-mannered and very dismissive of any pressure on him.”

Lay shared a video claiming that Radford had threatened him at the dog park the day before the shooting. In the video, Lay claimed that he had an encounter with Radford in the park and that Radford told him, “You’re going to die.”

Radford acknowledged using insults against Lay. But under questioning, he told Assistant State Attorney Justin Diaz 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 “attempt to tackle” Radford if he blocked his path again. Plus, he wrote, “this weekend should be dramatic.”

In response to questions from defense attorney Matthew Futch, Radford, 66, said Lay, 52, had “completely” dominated him.

“If he had not pulled out his firearm to defend himself, do you think he would have suffered great bodily harm or death?” -Futch asked.

Radford, crying, answered yes.

But prosecutors said there was no fight before the shooting. They said the bullet’s path through Lay’s body, traced 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 did if Lay had been lying or kneeling on Radford.

Díaz argued that there are inconsistencies in Radford’s account. “It’s a hate crime,” Diaz said.

Ward said he will rule on the defense motion next week.