It’s the Guns
Jana and Bradley Hocevar were watching a movie at their home at about 9 p.m. on June 15 when Jana Hocevar heard noise coming from their lanai, Sheriff Gualtieri said at a news conference Monday morning. Jana Hocevar, 43, said she saw an unfamiliar man within feet of the sliding glass doors and called 911.
The man, 33-year-old Karl Polek, works for Bay Area Pool Techs and was cleaning the Hocevars’ pool. However, Gualtieri said Polek had never shown up to clean the pool after dark in the previous six months he had done the job and did not alert the couple of his presence. The sheriff said the man was hired by the homeowners to clean their pool and had been working for them for around six months to a year.
Bradley Hocevar, 57, yelled at the supposed intruder to go away. Gualtieri said footage from the pool deck shows Polek went to get a flashlight from his truck while Bradley Hocevar yelled, making it likely Polek didn’t hear him. When Polek returned to the pool deck, he used the flashlight to fill out paperwork, then turned toward the house to place the paperwork by the door. When Bradley Hocevar saw the flashlight moving toward the house, he opened fire.
The sheriff said the flashlight made the homeowner think a burglar was entering his home. The husband fired two rounds through the sliding glass door, and the victim was hit by the glass. He was unaware the victim had fled the backyard and fired additional rounds. He fired a total of 30 rounds in 90 seconds.
According to the sheriff’s office, the homeowner “acted within the law,” referring to the Stand Your Ground Law in Florida, so no crime occurred. “It was lawful but awful,” the sheriff said.
The pool technician told 8 On Your Side he’s hired an attorney following the incident.
The couple went behind their couch. According to investigators, Jana Hocevar said she saw a flashlight coming towards the house while on the phone with a dispatcher but couldn’t see anything else that identified the person.
Deputies say her husband fired twice, striking the glass and shrapnel from the doors. The unknown person fled after two shots were fired.
PSCO released the 911 call audio, and the dispatcher can be heard telling Bradley Hocevar to stop shooting several times. After about 47 seconds, investigators say that Bradley Hocevar shot 28 more rounds resulting in 30 rounds being fired in 90 seconds.
