Florida man accused of hate crime in deadly shooting of gay man claims 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 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 when they believe they are defending themselves against 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 jail phone calls where Radford used a homophobic slur to describe Lay after his arrest.

Paul Gumpert, a friend of Lay, testified that it wasn’t in Lay’s character to be the aggressor, describing Lay as “very mild-mannered and very dismissive of any pressure against him.”

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 there was no scuffle before the shooting. They said the trajectory of the bullet through Lay’s body, as traced by an autopsy, contradicts Radford’s claim that Lay was on top of him.

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.