VOLUME 4 ISSUE 26
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JUNE 30 - JULY 6, 2023
No murder charge for Susan Lorincz in shooting death of AJ Owens, state attorney says
Impact fees may return to help fund schools
By Caroline Brauchler caroline@ocalagazette.com
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here is “insufficient evidence” to charge Susan Lorincz with second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Ajike “AJ” Owens, State Attorney Bill Gladson announced on Monday. Lorincz will instead be charged with manslaughter and one count of assault, as the evidence cannot definitively show that she was in a state of “depraved mind” at the time of the shooting, and showed no evidence of hatred, evil intent, spite or ill will toward the victim, according to a release from the state attorney’s office. Owens, a Black mother of four, was killed by Lorincz, her white neighbor, while standing outside of her neighbor’s locked door after Lorincz reportedly got into an altercation with Owens’ children who were playing outside. Lorincz reportedly shot through her door while Owens and her son were standing outside of it, fatally wounding Owens, according to Lorincz’s arrest affidavit. The Owens family is being represented by prominent civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, who has notably defended the families of Trayvon Martin, George Floyd, Tyre Nichols and Breonna Taylor. “I am aware of the desire of the family, and some community members, that the defendant be charged with second-degree murder. My obligation as state attorney is to follow the law in each case that I prosecute,” Gladson said in the release. If found guilty, Lorincz faces up to 30 years in prison for manslaughter with a firearm. If Lorincz had been charged and found guilty of second-degree murder, she could have faced up to a life sentence. Those close to the tragedy disagree with the charges, however, and had pushed for Lorincz’s charges to be raised to murder, rather than manslaughter. Multiple neighbors reported hearing Lorincz use racial slurs toward the family and often hearing arguments during their long-time feud, according to her arrest affidavit. Lorincz would often call the police on Owens’ children, claiming they had a “lack of respect for her peace and privacy,” according to the affidavit. The “Gazette” obtained records from several 911 calls on the day of the shooting, two of which were from See AJ Owens, page A4
From left to right: Allison Campbell, Eric Cummings, Lori Conrad, Nancy Thrower and Sarah James [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette]
By Caroline Brauchler caroline@ocalagazette.com
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new estimate shows the Marion County school district will need to spend about $459.4 million over the course of the next 15 years
to build new schools and expand existing schools to accommodate the projected growth in the county’s student population. That money has to come from somewhere, and the Marion County School Board is poised to recommend that
the Marion County commission reinstate the Educational System Impact Fee on new construction to raise funds to help offset the district’s needs. The school board is reviewing the findings from year-long Long Range Planning and Impact Fee
studies conducted by the Benesch consulting company that identified which schools need expansions and where new schools need to be built. This information will help the school board decide whether to recommend bringing back See Impact, page A3
From vouchers to guns, new laws take effect By Jim Turner Florida News Service
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ore school vouchers. Expanded restrictions on teaching about sexual orientation and gender identity. Limits on using TikTok. Carrying guns without concealed-weapons licenses. A larger Florida State Guard. More than 200 laws passed during the 2023 legislative session, including a record $116.5 billion budget, will take effect Saturday. Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed nearly 300 bills that the Republicancontrolled Legislature passed during the session. About one-third went into effect immediately or will hit the books in October or January. Here are some of the laws that will take effect Saturday: --- SB 2500, a $116.5 billion budget for the 2023-2024 fiscal year, which will run from Saturday through June 30. DeSantis vetoed $510.9 million from the budget passed by lawmakers in May. --- HB 1, expanding taxpayer-funded vouchers to all Florida students and eliminating income-eligibility requirements. --- HB 3, prohibiting government
investment strategies that consider “environmental, social and governance,” or ESG, standards. --- HB 5, eliminating Enterprise Florida, the state’s business-recruitment agency. Contracts and programs will be shifted to the Department of Economic Opportunity, which will be renamed the Department of Commerce. --- SB 102, making changes to try to expand affordable housing, including boosting funding for housing and rental programs, providing incentives for investment and encouraging mixed-use developments in struggling commercial areas. --- SB 106, designating $200 million to help link hiking and biking trails, which are part of the Shared-Use Nonmotorized Trail Network, to a statewide wildlife corridor. --- SB 214, preventing credit-card companies from tracking firearm and ammunition sales through a separate “merchant category code” at gun businesses. --- HB 225, allowing “opening remarks” of up to two minutes on public-address systems before high-school championship events. The change came amid a legal battle about whether a Christian school should have been able to offer a prayer over the loudspeaker before a championship football game. --- SB 240, offering tax breaks for
businesses that employ apprentices or pre-apprentices. --- SB 262, placing restrictions on large online companies about collecting and using consumers’ personal data. --- SB 264, preventing, with some exceptions, property purchases in Florida by people from China who are not U.S. citizens or permanent U.S. residents. --- SB 266, prohibiting colleges and universities from spending money on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. --- HB 379, prohibiting the use of the social-media platform TikTok on devices owned by school districts and through internet access provided by districts. TikTok has been controversial because of its Chinese ownership. --- HB 389, allowing school districts to provide free menstrual hygiene products in schools. --- HB 411, changing residency requirements for county school-board members. The bill will require board members to reside in the districts they represent by the date they take office, rather than at the time they qualify to run. --- HB 477, imposing eight-year term limits on school-board members, down from the current 12 years.
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