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Susan Lorincz, 60, was convicted in August of killing
35-year-old Ajike “A.J.” Owens by firing a single shot from her
.380-caliber handgun in June 2023. Lorincz faces a maximum
sentence of 30 years in state prison because a firearm was used.
The shooting was the culmination of a long-running argument
between the two neighbors over Owens’ children playing in a
grassy area at both of their houses in Ocala, about 80 miles
(130 kilometers) northwest of Orlando.
Prosecutors said Owens had come to Lorincz’s home after her
children complained that she had thrown roller skates and an
umbrella at them, which Lorincz denied. Trial testimony showed
Owens, a mother of four young children, was pounding on
Lorincz's door and yelling, leading Lorincz to claim
self-defense in shooting her neighbor.
Lorincz told detectives in a videotaped interview that she
feared for her life. She also said she had been harassed for
most of the three years she lived in the neighborhood.
“I thought I was in imminent danger,” she said.
But jurors did not agree with her self-defense claim.
Owens’ family pushed for the maximum prison sentence after
Lorincz was convicted by an all-white jury.
“While the pain of losing Ajike, we are hopeful that justice
will prevail and that the court will give Susan Lorincz the
maximum penalty for her actions,” said Owens’ mother, Pamela
Dias, in an email statement before Monday’s sentencing. “Ajike’s
legacy will live on through her children, and we will continue
to fight for justice.”
Lorincz’s attorney, Assistant Public Defender Amanda Sizemore,
sought a more lenient sentence, an unspecified term below the
11.5 years in prison that is the lowest for her crime under
state guidelines. Sizemore said in court documents that there
are several reasons to justify a downward departure, including a
mental disorder and claims that Owens was the aggressor and
under “extreme durses” during the confrontation.
There were protests in the Black community in Ocala when
prosecutors took weeks to charge Lorincz with manslaughter, a
lesser count than second-degree murder, which carries a
potential life prison sentence. Marion County, which includes
Ocala, has a Black population of about 12%, according to census
figures.
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