Jury convicts white Florida woman in fatal shooting of her Black neighbor during ongoing dispute

A white Florida woman was convicted Friday of manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a Black neighbor amid an ongoing dispute about children playing loudly outside her home. (AP produced by Javier Arciga)

A white Florida woman was convicted Friday of manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a Black neighbor after the jury rejected her claims that she fired through a metal door in self-defense amid an ongoing dispute over children playing outside her home.

The all-white jury in Ocala, Florida, found 60-year-old Susan Lorincz guilty after 2 1/2 hours of deliberation. Lorincz faces up to 30 years in prison at sentencing. She had claimed self-defense when she fired a single shot with a .380-caliber handgun through her front door on June 2, 2023, killing 35-year-old Ajike “A.J.” Owens.

The confrontation was the latest in a dispute between the two neighbors over Owens’ children playing in a grassy area near both of their houses. Prosecutors said Owens had come to Lorincz’s home after her children complained that she had allegedly thrown roller skates and an umbrella at them amid a long-running annoyance at their boisterous play outside.

Lorincz told detectives in a videotaped interview that she feared for her life as Owens yelled and pounded on her door.

“I thought I was in imminent danger,” she said.

Lorincz also said she had been harassed for most of the three years she lived in the neighborhood.

The victim’s family members broke down in tears after Lorincz left the courtroom with deputies. She showed no reaction or emotion when the verdict was announced.

Circuit Judge Robert W. Hodges did not immediately set a sentencing date but ordered a background report to be done on Lorincz.

Anthony Thomas, an attorney for the Owens family, said they would push for the maximum 30-year prison term. Owens’ mother, Pamela Dias, said she took some solace from the guilty verdict.

“We’ve achieved some justice for Ajike. My heart is a little lighter,” Dias told reporters outside the courthouse. “This has been a long journey to get to this stage, to get to this verdict. I find some peace with that verdict.”

State Attorney William Gladson, whose office prosecuted the case, said it was “a tragic reminder” of the consequences of gun violence.

“The defendant’s choices have left four young children without their mother, a loss that will be felt for the rest of their lives,” Gladson said in a statement. “While today’s verdict can’t bring A.J. back, we hope it brings some measure of justice and peace to her family and friends.”

During closing arguments, prosecutor Rich Buxman had said there was no evidence that Owens posed an imminent physical threat to Lorincz.

“It’s not a crime to bang on somebody’s door. It’s not a crime to yell,” Buxman told jurors. “There was no imminent danger whatsoever when she fired that gun.”

A lawyer for Lorincz countered that she was frightened by Owens’ aggressive actions and was legally justified in firing her gun under Florida’s “stand your ground” law. An autopsy found Owens weighed about 290 pounds (130 kilograms), making her much larger as well as younger than Lorincz, and the two had previous confrontations.

“She can defend herself,” said Amanda Sizemore, an assistant public defender. “She had a split second to make a decision whether or not to fire her weapon.”

Lorincz did not testify but said in an interview with detectives that was played for jurors that she never intended to harm Owens. Still, in one 911 call, Lorincz told a dispatcher, “I’m just sick of these children.”

“She was not in fear. She was angry,” Buxman said.

Owens’ family has expressed surprise no Black jurors were selected for the trial given the racially sensitive nature of the case. There were protests in the Black community when prosecutors took weeks to charge Lorincz with manslaughter, a lesser count than second-degree murder which carries a potential life prison sentence.

The county court clerk’s office said in an email that eight Black people were among the 70 in the initial jury pool. In contrast, 49 were white and 10 were listed as Hispanic, two as Asian and one as “other,” the clerk’s office said, based on records provided by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

Ocala is about 80 miles (130 kilometers) northwest of Orlando in central Florida. Marion County’s Black population is about 12%, according to census figures.