New court testimony casts doubt on 65-year-old Gerald Declan Radford’s claim that he fatally shot 52-year-old gay dog owner John Walter Lay in a Tampa area park on February 2 in self-defense. Radford is facing second-degree murder charges with possible hate crime enhancements.
Radford reportedly testified that Lay had “completely” overpowered him and repeatedly hit him in the face on the day of the shooting, ABC News reported. However, Lay’s friend Paul Gumpert testified that Lay was “very mild-mannered and very dismissive of any pressure against him.”
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Despite this, defense attorney Matthew Futch asked Radford in court, “Had you not drawn your firearm to defend yourself, do you believe you would have suffered great bodily harm or death?”
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Through tears, Radford answered, “Yes.”
Yet, Hillsborough County Chief Medical Examiner Kelly Devers cast doubt on Radford’s version of events, testifying that if Lay had been laying or kneeling on Radford (like Radford said), the bullet would have traveled a different path through Lay’s body. Radford shot Lay in the chest.
Several witnesses also testified last Friday that Radford had repeatedly harassed Lay and used homophobic slurs against him for months before the shooting. One day before the shooting, Lay shared a video claiming that Radford had told him “You’re going to die.”
Radford even used slurs to refer to Lay during phone calls from jail after he was arrested for his murder.
Under questioning in court, Radford told Assistant State Attorney Justin Diaz that he used slurs against Lay not because of his sexual orientation but because because “of the way he treated me.”
Defense attorneys claimed that Lay had premeditated attacking Radford and pointed to a text message that Lay sent saying that he planned to attack Radford by tackling him if Radford blocked his path again at a local park. One of Lay’s text messages said, “This weekend should be drama.”
Despite this, Lay’s friends and family previously told the media that Lay had gone out of his way to avoid Radford after months of ongoing harassment.
“In my opinion, there’s no way in hell this is really self-defense,” Albert Darlington, Lay’s friend and landlord, told The Tampa Bay Times. “For over a year, Dec has done nothing but harass Walt. He screams and hollers and calls him a fa****t every time he gets to the dog park. He’ll sit there and he’ll say, ‘I’d like to punch him right in the f**king mouth’ … and it has gotten worse and worse and worse.”
Darlington claimed Radford would also try to bump into Lay as he walked by.
“I even said to [Radford], ‘What are you trying to do, harass [Lay] until he jumps so you can kick his ass?’” Darlington recalled. “And all [Radford] would do was smile and look at me.”
Another friend, Andy Prince, claimed that Radford “said that he hates gay people, unprompted,” and openly talked about carrying of a gun.
Hillsborough Circuit Judge Samantha Ward, who is overseeing the case, said she will rule on the stand-your-ground motion next week.
But despite Radford’s claim of self-defense, shortly after Radford’s arrest, Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said, “After analyzing the evidence, it was clear that this man acted from hatred within his heart…. This victim also deserved to live free from fear and discrimination based on his sexual orientation.”
Radford faces life in prison whether he is convicted of second-degree murder or a lesser manslaughter charge. Last March, the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s office announced that it would seek enhanced sentencing for Radford under Florida’s hate crime statute.
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