Uber driver shoots, kills man in what Sheriff Judd calls 'classic stand your ground case'

[commodon]

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — The Polk County Sheriff's Office is conducting a death investigation after an Uber driver shot and killed a man early Tuesday morning.

During a news conference, Sheriff Grady Judd said that a bartender and patron at the Grove Lounge on US Hwy 27 in Dundee called for an Uber when they realized a young woman was in no condition to drive.

As they waited for the Uber to arrive, the patron, Jessica, and her boyfriend, 34-year-old Jason Boek, were texting back and forth about him picking her up from the bar. When he refused, Jessica told him that she had found a ride and didn't need him to pick her up; in which he later replied after arguing with her:

"I'm going to f***ing beat the f*** out of the Uber driver"

Once the Uber driver, 38-year-old Robert Westlake, arrived at the bar Jessica put the intoxicated young woman in the car. Boek began following the Hyundai Elantra thinking Jessica was inside.

As the two continued on Dundee Road, just east of Carl Floyd Road and CR 550, Boek approached Westlake's Hyundai from behind and then abruptly passed and pulled in front of it.

After jumping out of his F-250 pickup truck and approaching Westlake he yelled:

"You know I have a pistol? Want me to shoot you?"

Westlake, who is a concealed weapon permit holder and just finished police academy, reached into the pocket of the driver door, retrieved a handgun and shot Boek once in the chest. He then called 911 and spoke in "police lingo" and told them he had shot a man after he had threatened him. He also began lifesaving measures.

"At the end of the day, the message is clear — don't mess with the Uber driver," Sheriff Judd said. "Leave the Uber driver alone because he just may be a certified police officer in waiting. And when you force him off the road and threaten to shoot him with a gun while holding a cell phone in your right hand, which is a shiny object, you could get shot and killed."

According to Sheriff Judd, "this is a justifiable homicide all day long and a classic stand your ground case."

Boek's criminal history includes previous arrests for aggravated battery, battery, burglary, marijuana possession, forgery, larceny, resisting arrest, and VOP. He's on felony probation for battery, which began in June 2016 and was scheduled to end in June 2021. His driver's license was suspended in May 2018, and the truck he was driving does not belong to him - he borrowed it from a friend.

Deputies obtained a search warrant for the truck Boek was driving and recovered a marijuana cigarette and a glass pipe containing meth residue.

The investigation is ongoing.

Uber driver shoots, kills man in what Sheriff Judd calls 'classic stand your ground case'

 

[Palladin]

Nice.

 

[slap shot]

Good story, but idk what counts as journalism anymore...

 

[n1bsbri]

I love a happy ending.

 

[Bfatz]

Winning...

 

[drgrant]

Whoever wrote that article needs to go back to school or something, it's confusing as f***.

-Mike

 

[headednorth]

the massachusetts version would be totally different....
" Local Man charged with Murder after killing an innocent man " I can see it now

"Gunman..."

 

[rwl1955]

Nice, I love a happy ending!

 

[glide]

Florida.

Figures.

 

[Qwikdraw45]

Of course, cue the antis in 3...2...1.... "We need to tighten up gun laws if a convicted felon on probation can get a gun so easily".

 

[Rob Boudrie]

"At the end of the day, the message is clear — don't mess with the Uber driver,"

I love it. But, Uber started requiring unarmed drivers after one of its drivers stopped a mass shooting. I'll be he gets pulled from the roster.

 

[Fixxah]

I love it. But, Uber started requiring unarmed drivers after one of its drivers stopped a mass shooting. I'll be he gets pulled from the roster.

Who gives a fvck? He is alive.

 

[Rob Boudrie]

Who gives a fvck? He is alive.

This sounds like a case of (1) verbal threat; (2) Object mistaken for a gun, (3) Benefit of the doubt goes to the person with police credentials.

There is no indication (from the limited perspective in the article) that the aggressor actually had a gun, or that shooting him did anything other than defend from a reasonably perceived, rather than real, threat. I doubt this would be treated as an obvious stand your ground case if the shooter had not had the police connection.

This does not sound like a case where the defender would have been killed had he not reacted. But, he must be judged on what was reasonably perceived at the time, not later detached reflection.

 

[Masswhole]

Good story, but idk what counts as journalism anymore...

No kidding. Granted I'm a few beers in but I had to re-read that several times.
Not to mention the useless interview with the drunk passenger "I have no idea what happened". lol

 

[crispnipz]

I love it. But, Uber started requiring unarmed drivers after one of its drivers stopped a mass shooting. I'll be he gets pulled from the roster.

I'd rather be judged by 12 Silicon Valley nitwits than carried by 6.

 

[FrugalFannie]

You or I would likely not get the same treatment from the local po-po.

"Leave the Uber driver alone because he just may be a certified police officer in waiting. "

 

[Frizzle Fry]

Whoever wrote that article needs to go back to school or something, it's confusing as f***.

-Mike

This.

Takes a few reads and rereads of the first few paragraphs to realize that unnamed bartender unnamed drunk girl are NOT Jessica. Also what was Jessica doing putting drunk girl in the Uber, did they know each other or something? Was she waiting for another Uber? Was her boyfriend there to see her put the drunk girl in the Uber?

 

[nstassel]

Former uber driver

 

[Tinkermatic]

That article sucks.

View: https://youtu.be/c9jVjzX57LM

Dude passes Uber on double yellow, stops his truck, immediately gets out and starts walking towards driver shouting “you know I got a pistol, right! I’m gonna f***ing shoot you”
Then, bang.
This one is pretty clear cut.

 

[VTHunter]

According to some reports, there was more than just verbal threats at the scene. Apparently, the lead transplant recipient thought it was a good idea to post his intended actions on social media (Facebook)...

 

[PaulR]

too soon to ask for pics of said drunk chick that needed the ride?

[/shallow Paul]

 

[garandman]

too soon to ask for pics of said drunk chick that needed the ride?

[/shallow Paul]

In her 30’s, in Florida, shitfaced, dating a meth head? That’s a “No” for me.

Looks like the boyfriend Jason Boek Facebook page is shut down.

“Boek's family spoke to NBC News Wednesday from their home, where they said that they were distraught and that he was a loving father who was beloved by many but made a bad choice. They also insisted the Uber driver had time to leave the scene instead of shooting.

"He's not a bad person. He needed help," mother Michele Boek, said.

"How he was portrayed in that press conference is not who he is as a person," said Jenna Irby, Boek's sister. "Now my 2-year-old son is never going to know him," she added through tears.

And she was not in the car.

According to the Polk County Sheriff's Office, a woman called for an Uber to take her home from the Grove Lounge on U.S. Highway 27 in Dundee because she had been drinking.

Another woman at the lounge walked the patron to her Uber when it arrived, deputies said. The women do not know each other.

The Uber driver, a 38-year-old Lake Wales man, drove the woman west on Dundee Road

Meanwhile, the woman who assisted the Uber passenger began receiving text messages from Boek, her on-again, off-again boyfriend, who thought she got into the Uber, deputies said. Boek told her he was going to pursue the Uber and beat up the driver, according to officials. Judd said it appears Boek thought his girlfriend, not the other bar patron, get into the car.

 

[boatman]

Why is this a clear case of stand your ground? Happy with the result of one less a...hole, but legally all he did was verbally threaten the guy. From the video I saw, he didn't have a weapon out, and was like 15' away from the uber driver.

So you can now shoot someone for him just saying he has a pistol? If the drunk guy didn't have all the priors and was just a regular guy that was drunk, but pissed off about something getting into this situation, I think a grand jury brings charges against the uber driver.

 

[Ringworm]

good shoot.

However. It was a cop-in-waiting, so the rules are AUTOMATICALLY different for him. If this was a civilian, you know damn well, it'd be a different caption, even in Florida. In PRM, you'd be reading about a homicide investigation because the DA believes the Uber driver had "plenty of time to run away"...

Just another point about cops getting special treatment, and Ma being a place that doesn't respect your right to life....

 

[garandman]

Why is this a clear case of stand your ground? Happy with the result of one less a...hole, but legally all he did was verbally threaten the guy. From the video I saw, he didn't have a weapon out, and was like 15' away from the uber driver.

So you can now shoot someone for him just saying he has a pistol? If the drunk guy didn't have all the priors and was just a regular guy that was drunk, but pissed off about something getting into this situation, I think a grand jury brings charges against the uber driver.

Can’t really see what happened when the shot went off. But he was advancing rapidly, clearly said he had a gun, and in the 911 call the driver mentions kicking away a cell phone. No racial considetion as apparently both are white. Dark road, 2am. Don’t forget driver had a passenger.

OTOH compare this with the woman motorcyclist wh owas cleared of charges in Washington - lengthy investigation before she was cleared.

Glad we’ve installed dashcams.

 

[Qwikdraw45]

Can’t really see what happened when the shot went off. But he was advancing rapidly, clearly said he had a gun, and in the 911 call the driver mentions kicking away a cell phone. No racial considetion as apparently both are white. Dark road, 2am. Don’t forget driver had a passenger.

OTOH compare this with the woman motorcyclist wh owas cleared of charges in Washington - lengthy investigation before she was cleared.

Glad we’ve installed dashcams.

Sheriff Grady (Polk Co. Florida) states that the F250 driver had a cell phone in his hand, after stating "I have a pistol". Not really noticeable in the video, but gives more credence to the Uber driver's reasoning. He all but states "PSGWSP" on the news down here.