Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier's attempt to spare a Florida woman from jail in a road rage case where she argued she fatally shot a man in self-defense didn't play out exactly as he was hoping, though prosecutors did end up dropping the murder charges the woman was facing in a deal that involves a guilty plea to lesser charges.
As we reported last month, Uthmeier posted a video on X.com slamming Orange-Osceola State Attorney Monique Worrell over her decision to prosecute Tina Allgeo, arguing that Worrell "may not like Florida’s Stand Your Ground laws, but those laws reflect our God-given right to self-defense."
Allgeo was indicted by a grand jury back in February, even though even police reports show that she was not the initial aggressor in the incident and had reason to believe that her life was in danger when she drew her gun and shot her assailant.
Allgeo encountered Tsvetkov as they drove along East Colonial Drive near Primrose Avenue, east of downtown Orlando, as the man followed closely behind her. According to reports by the Orlando Police Department, the two quarreled after Tsvetkov struck Allego’s car and then struck her during an attempt to escape after she got out of her car to survey the damage to her rear bumper.
It further escalated when Allgeo side-swiped his car — accidentally, she told police in a written statement — as she followed him to get a closer look at his license plate. Video surveillance then showed Tsvetkov exit his car, open her driver’s side door and punch her repeatedly while trying to drag her out her vehicle before she shot him in the face.
Allgeo was arrested and later released on bond.
Worrell claimed that Allgeo had "provoked the entire incident," adding that "After Mr. Tsvetkov left their initial encounter, she pursued him, struck his vehicle with hers, which prohibits Ms. Allgeo from using self-defense as a claim if she's in the commission."
In the plea deal struck by Worrell and Allgeo's attorneys, the armed citizen ended up pleading no contest to one count of aggravated battery with a vehicle for hitting Tsvetkov's car before he got out and assaulted her while she was sitting in her vehicle. Under the terms of the deal Allgeo will spend no more than 18 months in prison, followed by five years probation.
After the deal was reached, Worrell was quick to blame Uthmeier for its terms.
Speaking to reporters in the courtyard of the Orange County Courthouse, Worrell pointed to Uthmeier’s Sept. 8 ultimatum that the case be dropped entirely or she would face “further intervention” as the reason her office decided to quickly resolve the charges. Additionally, she said Uthmeier had not been in touch with her office to discuss the Allgeo matter, which would have “given him a more informed process by which to comment on the case.”
“This is not the accountability that I would have liked to see in this case; however, based on the interference of the attorney general, this is the justice that this case has come to,” said Worrell, who said prosecutors typically “should not speak on a case in a manner that can influence the outcome.”
Allgeo's attorney, meanwhile, contended that he could have had the murder charges dismissed at a Stand Your Ground hearing, and said it was "horrific" for Uthmeier or any other politician to have weighed in on the case.
Honestly, if I were in Allgeo's shoes I would be thrilled to have Uthmeier's support, regardless of what my attorney thought. I hope he continues to speak out when he sees instances of prosecutors going after armed citizens for acting in self-defense, even if it doesn't lead to charges being dropped. There's no shortage of anti-gun politicians who are quick to condemn defensive gun uses, even when the gun owner in question is ultimately cleared of all charges (Kyle Rittenhouse's case is a prime example), and it's nice to see a public official who's willing to stand in support of the right to self-defense when they believe an injustice is taking place.
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