Man Accused of Hate Crime Shooting of Gay Victim in Tampa, Florida, Says Act Was Self-Defense

TAMPA, Fla. — A Florida man accused of 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 on Friday that he feared for his own life when he shot John “Walt” Lay at a Tampa dog park on Feb. 2.

Local news outlets report Radford testified that Lay repeatedly hit 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 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 in Florida have invoked the stand-your-ground law to seek immunity from prosecution. These laws assert that individuals are not obligated to retreat before resorting to deadly force if they believe they are safeguarding themselves against a violent crime.

However, the prosecution challenges Radford’s account. During the trial, several witnesses testified that Radford had been tormenting Lay for months leading up to the shooting, frequently using homophobic language. Prosecutors presented jail phone call recordings where Radford used derogatory terms towards Lay following his apprehension.

A friend of Lay, Paul Gumpert, took the stand to vouch for Lay’s character. Gumpert testified that Lay was not prone to being the instigator, portraying him as “very calm and disregarding of any provocation.”

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

Radford acknowledged using slurs against Lay. But he told Assistant State Attorney Justin Diaz under 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 a text message Lay sent after the video as proof he planned to attack Radford. Lay wrote in part that he would “try to tackle” Radford if he blocked his path again. In addition, he wrote, “this weekend should be drama.”

In response to questions from defense attorney Matthew Futch, the 66-year-old Radford said the 52-year-old Lay 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, answered yes.

But prosecutors said the trajectory of the bullet through Lay’s body, as traced by an autopsy, makes it unlikely that Lay was on top of Radford when Lay was shot, as Radford claims.

Hillsborough County Chief Medical Examiner Kelly Devers testified it would be “hard” for a bullet to take the path it did if Lay had been laying or kneeling on Radford.

Diaz argued 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.