A Florida man won't be criminally charged after he mistook his pool cleaner for an intruder and opened fire on him with a high-capacity weapon, officials said Monday.
Bradley and Jana Hocevar were in their home in Dunedin on June 15 when she spotted a figure on their pool deck about 9 p.m., officials said.
Jana Hocevar, 43, called 911, and Bradley Hocevar, 57, "retrieved a rifle from their bedroom" and "fired two rounds" at Karl Polek, 33, the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.
Polek works for Bay Area Pool Techs and was servicing the couple's pool. He was hurt by exploding glass and shrapnel but didn't suffer any life-threatening wounds, officials said.
“This is a classic example of what’s called the castle doctrine, or Florida's stand-your-ground law. Bradley Hocevar was in his home; he was in fear someone was breaking in,” Sheriff Bob Gualtieri told reporters.
"I would call [it] lawful but awful. I mean it's lawful, but it's an awful set of circumstances."
The couple have been using Bay Area Pool Techs for years, and Polek has been their cleaner for more than six months, officials said.
The service normally happens on Thursday or Friday afternoons but never as late as 9 p.m., officials said.
Both Bradley and Jana Hocevar yelled out at the man to leave, but he didn’t obey the shouts, the couple's 911 call and security video seemed to show.
"It’s an unfortunate set of circumstances," Gualtieri said. "We talked to [the] pool guy. In hindsight, he should have probably let them know he was coming at 9 o'clock at night, yet he made no effort to contact them at all."
After Hocevar fired two shots and Polek fled, Hocevar fired more shots into the unoccupied pool area, emptying his 30-round magazine in about 90 seconds.
Hocevar, a former Army lieutenant colonel, could be heard on the 911 call concerned that he might have wounded someone.
"I shot up the whole f------" pool deck, he said. "My God, did I hurt somebody?"
Gualtieri said he refuses to engage in "Monday morning quarterbacking" and criticize Hocevar's actions.
He did wonder whether Hocevar needed to keep shooting with his AR-15 rifle after the first two rounds.
"If there’s room for discussion, that's where there’s room for discussion," Gualtieri said. "That didn’t need to happen."
Polek couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday at any of the publicly listed phone numbers for him.
A representative for Bay Area Pool Techs couldn't immediately be reached for comment Tuesday.
