Central Florida Uber driver shoots, kills man chasing him, sheriff says

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – An Uber driver shot and killed a man who chased and threatened him in a "classic case of stand your ground," Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said.

Jason Boek, of Winter Haven, was killed in the shooting, which was reported around 2:20 a.m. Tuesday on Dundee Road, just east of Carl Floyd Road and County Road 550 near Cypress Gardens.

According to the Polk County Sheriff's Office, a woman called for an Uber to take her home from the Grove Lounge on U.S. Highway 27 in Dundee because she had been drinking. 

Another woman at the lounge walked the patron to her Uber when it arrived, deputies said. The women do not know each other.

The Uber driver, a 38-year-old Lake Wales man, drove the woman west on Dundee Road

Meanwhile, the woman who assisted the Uber passenger began receiving text messages from Boek, her on-again, off-again boyfriend, who thought she got into the Uber, deputies said. Boek told her he was going to pursue the Uber and beat up the driver, according to officials.

Judd said it appears Boek thought his girlfriend, not the other bar patron, get into the car.

Boek drove a Ford F-250 pickup truck that was borrowed, and chased down the Uber driver, who was in a Hyundai, officials said. Boek pulled in front of the car, and the Uber driver thought he was trying to run him off the road, deputies said.

According to Judd, Boek stopped the truck and began walking toward the Hyundai, saying, "You know, I got a pistol. You want me to f****** shoot you?"

As Boek kept walking toward the car, the Uber driver, who is a concealed weapon permit holder and a licensed armed security guard who just finished the police academy, reached into the pocket of the driver door and retrieved a handgun, firing one shot at Boek, who was struck in the chest and killed, officials said.

Boek was holding a cellphone as he approached the Uber, but Judd said the driver did nothing wrong.

"Leave the Uber driver alone. He may just be a police officer in waiting," said Judd, adding that the case has been deemed as a justifiable homicide. "It's a classic case of 'Stand Your Ground.' This was the intent of the law."

The Uber driver called 911 and began life-saving measures on Boek, who was later pronounced dead, deputies said.

Neither the Uber driver nor his passenger knew Boek., who has an extensive criminal history, including arrests on charges of aggravated battery, battery, burglary, marijuana possession, forgery, larceny, resisting arrest and violation of probation, officials said.

Boek's driver’s license was suspended in May 2018, authorities said. Deputies obtained a search warrant for the truck Boek was driving and recovered a marijuana cigarette and a glass pipe containing meth residue, according to officials.

Judd said he has a message to "hot heads:" "Good people carry guns and they will shoot you. You may be used to bullying people ... I highly recommend against that if you value your life. Leave people alone. They may have a gun and shoot you."

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