A man in Florida allegedly fired 30 rounds from an AR-15 rifle after he reportedly mistook his pool cleaner for a home intruder.According to apress release from the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, the incident took place on the night of June 15 after 43-year-old Jana Hocevar alerted her husband, Bradley Hocevar of noises and the presence of an unknown male figure on their pool deck.The figure turned out to be the Hocevar family pool cleaner, Karl Polek, who was reportedly behind schedule, causing him to arrive at their home at 9 p.m., Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri claimed during apress conference on Monday.Pinellas County Sheriffâs Office"Polek did not knock on the door. He didn’t call or make any attempt to notify the Hocevars that he would be entering their back lanai and going on to their pool deck at 9 p.m.," Gualtieri claimed. “When Polek entered, he did so through a side door.“After the Hocevars saw Polek, 33, reportedly coming toward their door with a flashlight, Hocevar allegedly fired the first two rounds from his AR-15 rifle, causing Polek to run from the pool lanai.Pinellas County Sheriffâs Office"Polek was turning away, and he was hit with glass and shrapnel from the rounds. So he wasn’t per se shot. He was struck in the back with shrapnel from the rounds and glass,” added Gualtieri.Hocevar, 57, allegedly continued to fire, believing that an intruder was still on the property, the sheriff reported.“Bradley Hocevar still couldn’t see out the back windows, but both he and Jana stated that they heard a noise and believed the person was on the back deck,” Gualtieri alleged. “So 47 seconds after he fired the first two rounds, and 47 seconds after Polek actually ran away, Bradley Hocevar fired additional rounds, and 25 seconds after that he fired more rounds. In total, Bradley Hocevar fired 30 rounds from the rifle in about 90 seconds.“Polek was taken to the hospital with minor injuries and was treated and released the same night.Calling the incident an “unfortunate set of circumstances,” Gualtieri claimed that Hocevar acted within the law when he reportedly fired his weapon, citing Florida’s “Stand Your Ground Law” which protects Hocevar’s right to fire toward someone he believed posed a threat to him and his wife.Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up forPEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletterfor breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.“This is one of those things if I was going to sum it up, it’s a terrible set of circumstances but it’s unfortunate, avoidable, but it’s probably one of those things that I would call lawful but awful,” he said. “It’s lawful, but it’s just an awful set of circumstances. But we’re fortunate that no one was seriously hurt. There was no crime that was committed and Hocevar was acting within the law when he fired.”
A man in Florida allegedly fired 30 rounds from an AR-15 rifle after he reportedly mistook his pool cleaner for a home intruder.
According to apress release from the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, the incident took place on the night of June 15 after 43-year-old Jana Hocevar alerted her husband, Bradley Hocevar of noises and the presence of an unknown male figure on their pool deck.
The figure turned out to be the Hocevar family pool cleaner, Karl Polek, who was reportedly behind schedule, causing him to arrive at their home at 9 p.m., Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri claimed during apress conference on Monday.
Pinellas County Sheriffâs Office
“Polek did not knock on the door. He didn’t call or make any attempt to notify the Hocevars that he would be entering their back lanai and going on to their pool deck at 9 p.m.,” Gualtieri claimed. “When Polek entered, he did so through a side door.”
After the Hocevars saw Polek, 33, reportedly coming toward their door with a flashlight, Hocevar allegedly fired the first two rounds from his AR-15 rifle, causing Polek to run from the pool lanai.
“Polek was turning away, and he was hit with glass and shrapnel from the rounds. So he wasn’t per se shot. He was struck in the back with shrapnel from the rounds and glass,” added Gualtieri.
Hocevar, 57, allegedly continued to fire, believing that an intruder was still on the property, the sheriff reported.
“Bradley Hocevar still couldn’t see out the back windows, but both he and Jana stated that they heard a noise and believed the person was on the back deck,” Gualtieri alleged. “So 47 seconds after he fired the first two rounds, and 47 seconds after Polek actually ran away, Bradley Hocevar fired additional rounds, and 25 seconds after that he fired more rounds. In total, Bradley Hocevar fired 30 rounds from the rifle in about 90 seconds.”
Polek was taken to the hospital with minor injuries and was treated and released the same night.
Calling the incident an “unfortunate set of circumstances,” Gualtieri claimed that Hocevar acted within the law when he reportedly fired his weapon, citing Florida’s “Stand Your Ground Law” which protects Hocevar’s right to fire toward someone he believed posed a threat to him and his wife.
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“This is one of those things if I was going to sum it up, it’s a terrible set of circumstances but it’s unfortunate, avoidable, but it’s probably one of those things that I would call lawful but awful,” he said. “It’s lawful, but it’s just an awful set of circumstances. But we’re fortunate that no one was seriously hurt. There was no crime that was committed and Hocevar was acting within the law when he fired.”
source: people.com
