Michael Keetley trial: Ex-girlfriend of ice cream man testifies in double-murder case
TAMPA, Fla. - An ex-girlfriend says the ice cream man accused of murder was obsessed with vigilante justice, but Michael Keetley's defense says he was physically unable to shoot anyone.
A restaurant worker and an ex-girlfriend testified at the trial of the former ice cream man Tuesday, telling the jury he was obsessed with finding the men who robbed and shot him in 2010. Keetley is accused of shooting six people, killing two of them, in what turned out to be a case of mistaken identity.
Prosecutors say Keetley was blinded by revenge when he opened fire, killing brothers Juan and Sergio Geitron and injuring four other men who were hanging out on their porch on Thanksgiving Day in 2010. They say eleven months earlier, Keetley, had been shot and robbed during his ice cream route in Ruskin, and he had grown impatient with the police investigation.
RELATED: Second trial against ice cream man Michael Keetly accused in double-murder begins
On Tuesday, Luciano Alonzo, who works at a restaurant in Wimauma, took the stand.
He told the jury Keetley was a regular customer at the restaurant. He said he remembers Keetley being obsessed with finding the men who robbed him.
"He said the guy didn't even blink – he just shot him, and he put his hand up, and he shot him in his hand and that’s how he got his hand disabled," Alonzo testified.
Prosecutors say Keetley learned through his own investigation that a man nicknamed "Creeper" was, one of the men responsible for robbing him.
READ: 'Ice cream man murder case': Michael Keetley set to go to trial again for 2010 double murder
"He would ask me if I know Creeper. If I could find out where Creeper lived," recalled Alonzo.
But the defense quickly pointed out Keetley was in no physical shape to shoot anyone after his hand and leg were injured in the robbery. Alonzo remembered that, too.
Defense attorney John Grant asked Alonzo, "you recall that he could not use this hand to eat, right?" he asked.
"Right," replied Alonzo.
The jury also heard from Keetley’s ex-girlfriend, Stacy Rogan, who said the former ice cream man believed in vigilante justice.
"He was actively looking for the people that had shot him," she said.
The prosecution reminded Rogan how Keetley often told her that he understood why people would take things into their own hands.
"Yes. One hundred percent," she added.
The jury is expected to hear from a surviving victim and the medical examiner on Wednesday. Keetley is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and four counts of attempted murder.