Kenneth Roop, 52 of Cape Coral, Florida told detectives that the man he shot should have respected his three "No Trespassing" signs and that the reason he didn't warn the victim to get off his property was because "I'm not going to give him the chance to do something to me, I was in fear."
30-year-old Nick Rainey, an employee of Blue Ribbon Steak and Seafood,was going door to door selling products. A co-worked who witnessed the shooting said Rainey had knocked on Roop's door but received no answer. He was walking back down the driveway when Roop pullled up in his pickup truck.
The two men had a brief conversation and then Roop pulled out a black handgun and shot Rainey. As Rainey lay on the ground, Roop fired another bullet into the back of his head. Roop told police that he was in fear and thought Rainey was reaching for something and he shot him in the head "for effect."
An off-duty sheriff's deputy who lives in the neighborhood held Roop at gunpoint until the local police arrived.
A former state prosecutor, Ray Sotomayor, called Roop a "time bomb" who "had a screw loose." Sotomayor was the prosecutor in a case against Roop seven years ago when he was accused of pointing a gun at a woman who simply wanted to read his electric meter. He said Roop's attitude was similar to "militia-minded, anti-government" types and that he was obsessed with the idea of guarding his home.
Roop was found not guilty by a jury.
Roop told police he thinks he has about 14 firearms. He also has a valid concealed weapons permit.
