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Postal worker charged with murder released from jail
FOX 13's Kylie Jones reports.
LITHIA, Fla. - A postal worker who is accused of stabbing a lawn care worker in Lithia was let out of jail on Tuesday.
Mark Calloway, 60, was arrested on Friday, facing a charge of second-degree murder with a weapon. He is accused of stabbing and killing Jacob Whitaker, 29, after an argument over a parking position on the street.
"This happened over what?" a prosecutor said. "Blocked mailboxes."
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The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said Whitaker was in the FishHawk neighborhood doing lawn work at a home at the same time that Calloway was delivering mail on his regular route. A detective testified about what happened during the incident when Calloway appeared in court on Tuesday afternoon.
He said he spoke to the neighbor whose home Whitaker was coming to do lawn work at.
"She heard his pickup truck pull up," the detective said. "Due to where her mailbox is placed in the neighbor’s yard, she walked outside to ensure that he was in the right location."
The detective said the neighbor told him that when she walked outside, she heard a verbal argument between Calloway and Whitaker.
PREVIOUS: Argument between postal worker, lawn care professional led to deadly stabbing in FishHawk: HCSO
"Mr. Whitaker backs up to allow Mr. Calloway to pull in and deliver the mail," a detective with HCSO said. "Once he delivers the mail, he says he forgot to deliver a package, at which point, he gets out to deliver that package, and he says he can hear Mr. Whitaker yelling."
The detective said Calloway went over to the driver’s side of Whitaker’s truck, as Whitaker rolled down the window.
"She was able to see the altercation from their shoulders up, due to the pickup truck blocking the part of her view," the detective said. "From there, she could just hear yelling. She wasn’t able to describe what she was hearing. She could just hear loud, back and forth talking, and she could just see the two individuals moving back and forth."
Rick Escobar, Calloway’s attorney, pointed out that the neighbor only had a limited view of the incident.
"What one person is saying to another could be very critical in a case like this, correct?" Escobar said.
A security camera on a car that was parked across the street captured part of the incident.
"He advised that they called each other lazy, and at that point, Mr. Whitaker exits the vehicle," the detective said. "He says the front driver’s door struck him as Mr. Whitaker exits the vehicle, then Mr. Whitaker chest bumps him, and then he says slams him to the ground, at which point he gets up, and he said he felt the need to defend himself."
The detective said that’s when Calloway stabbed Whitaker multiple times. The detective said Calloway told him that he didn’t recall Whitaker hitting him or having weapons.
"You don’t have to be hit before you exercise your right in self-defense," Escobar said.
Escobar said Calloway told the detective that he thought Whitaker was going to beat him up. He argued that Calloway was standing his ground and acting in self-defense when a verbal argument became physical.
"He makes physical contact, unwanted physical contact against my client," Escobar said. "Goes right up to him, bumps his chest, his face is touching my client’s face."
READ: Lakeland man fatally stabs wife upwards of 20 times: LPD
Photos of scrapes and bruises on Calloway’s arms and chest were shown in court. Escobar also pointed out that Whitaker allegedly weighs roughly twice as much as Calloway and is significantly younger than him.
Escobar continued to poke holes in what he later called a bumbling investigation. He pointed out that the security camera video only captures part of the interaction, and that a substantial amount happens out of the frame of the video.
Escobar also said that physical assaulting a USPS employee is a federal offense.
"The justifiable use of deadly force has a provision that allows someone to prevent a forcible felony from being committed on them," Escobar said.
Escobar asked the detective whether they asked Calloway if he had any physical issues during his investigation.
"Because that goes into the assessment," Escobar said. "The assessment of what he was going through at the time of the attack."
Escobar said Calloway has arthritis and is on pain medication. The state said detectives spoke to other people in the neighborhood during their investigation.
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"Several homeowners had mentioned Mr. Calloway was known to be agitated very easily when people were blocking mailboxes and have complications," the detective said.
Escobar pointed to social media posts previously made by Whitaker, and read one of them in the courtroom.
"‘Next old person that follows me around the yard to make sure I fertilize the whole thing is getting body slammed,'" Escobar said.
The state maintained its position that Calloway was the one who provoked the incident.
"Mr. Calloway provoked this initiation with Mr. Whitaker, and he ends up re-engaging with Mr. Whitaker, even after he was pushed down on the ground," a prosecutor said.
The judge sided with the defense, saying Whitaker was the aggressor in this case.
"The contact that’s eventually made between the parties, the physical contact, is at the behest of the victim in this case," Tampa Judge Samantha Ward said.
The judge allowed Calloway to be released from jail on his own recognizance.
"That’s certainly in part of self-defense law that allows someone to defend themselves from great bodily harm or a felony," Ward said.
The judge also acknowledged that Calloway has no prior criminal record. Escobar said charges have not officially been filed at this time.
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