On Monday, a white Florida woman will be sentenced for manslaughter after shooting a Black neighbor dead through her front door amid a continuing argument over the neighbor’s rowdy kids.

In August, Susan Lorincz, 60, was found guilty of using a single shot to kill Ajike A.J. Owens, 35.a handgun in June 2023 that is 380 caliber. Because a firearm was used, Lorincz could get a maximum term of 30 years in state prison.

A long-running argument between the two neighbors over Owen’s kids playing in a grassy area close to both of their homes in Ocala, which is roughly 80 miles (130 kilometers) northwest of Orlando, led to the shooting.

After her children complained that she had thrown roller skates and an umbrella at them, prosecutors said Owens went to Lorincz’s residence. Lorincz refuted the allegations.

According to trial testimony, Lorincz shot her neighbor in self-defense after Owens, a mother of four small children, began shouting and beating on her door.

In a filmed interview, Lorincz expressed her fear for her life to investigators. In addition, she stated that she had spent much of her three years in the neighborhood being harassed.

She claimed that I believed I was in immediate danger.

Jurors disagreed with her claim of self-defense, nevertheless.

After an all-white jury found Lorincz guilty, the Owens family fought for the maximum prison term.

In an email statement before Monday’s sentencing, Owens’ mother, Pamela Dias, stated, “Although we grieve the loss of Ajike, we are still hopeful that justice will be served and that the court will impose the maximum penalty for Susan Lorincz’s actions.” We will keep fighting for justice, and Ajike’s legacy will endure through her children.

Assistant Public Defender Amanda Sizemore, Lorincz’s lawyer, asked for a lighter sentence—an indeterminate amount less than the minimum of 11.5 years in prison required by state law for her offense.

According to court filings, Sizemore listed a number of justifications for a downward departure, such as a mental illness and allegations that Owens was the aggressor and under tremendous strain at the time of the incident.

After prosecutors took weeks to charge Lorincz with manslaughter, a lesser crime than second-degree murder, which carries a possible life sentence, protests broke out in Ocala’s Black community.

Ocala is part of Marion County, which has a 12% Black population, according to census data.

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