Florida man fired at pool cleaner mistaken for intruder, spared charges

A Florida homeowner fired his AR-15 at a pool cleaner he allegedly mistook for an intruder — but he won’t be charged in the shooting since he’s protected by the state’s “Stand Your Ground Law.”

Bradley Hocevar, 57, of Dunedin, and his wife, Jana, were grabbing food from their kitchen around 9 p.m. June 15 when they heard noises coming from their pool lanai, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said at a press conference on Monday.

The couple allege that they saw a man they did not recognize standing in their screened-in yard and moving closer to their door, Gualtieri said.

Hocevar yelled at the person to “go away” multiple times before grabbing his Colt M4 carbine while Jana called 911.

“This Colt M4 carbine rifle is what most people would call an AR-15 rifle. The rifle has a 30-round magazine. The magazine was fully loaded but the gun didn’t have a round in the chamber,” Gualtieri told the press.

Jana’s emergency phone call and surveillance footage captured the chaotic moments that followed, as Hocevar got behind a couch and fired two rounds through closed blinds into the backyard.

He then emptied the magazine of his rifle into the backyard, firing a total of 30 rounds in 90 seconds. 

Police later found stray bullets on a shuffleboard court behind the Hocevars’ property, Gualtieri noted.

The mysterious man was later identified as the couple’s pool cleaner, 33-year-old Karl Polek.

Polek, who is employed by Bay Area Pool Cleaners, told police he arrived at the house late because he was running behind schedule.

“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 said.

Polek was hit in the back with glass and shrapnel from Hocevar’s rifle, but “wasn’t per se shot,” the sheriff added.

He managed to run off the lanai after Hocevar’s two initial rounds, and was not in the backyard when the homeowner emptied the rifle.

Polek was later treated at the hospital for minor injuries, and was released just a few hours later.

Gualtieri confirmed on Monday that Hocevar will not face charges because he acted within the bounds of Florida’s “Stand Your Ground Law,” which protects a homeowner’s right to fire on someone he believes to be a threat.

“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,” Gualtieri lamented.

“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.”

News that Hocevar would not face charges in the shocking bullet spray came the same day that Florida officials announced that the Ocala woman who gunned down her unarmed neighbor would be spared murder charges for the killing.

Susan Lorincz, 58, was hit instead with manslaughter and assault raps after the state attorney found that there was “insufficient evidence” to upgrade the charges.