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Alleged Easter shooter asks judge to be released on bond

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — The accused gunman whose escape forced Orange County to suspend its GPS monitoring program wants out of jail.

Police say Wilfred Gregory shot Calvin Johnson during a party in Apopka on Easter and then cut off his GPS ankle monitor.

On Monday, Gregory's mother and his defense attorney tried to convince the judge to let him out of jail.

His lawyer tried to argue that the evidence against her son is weak, and he should be allowed to bond out of jail.

Gregory's defense attorney, Kenneth Andrews, told the judge the tracking information from his GPS ankle monitor, before he cut it off, could prove he's innocent.

"Where he was indicated to be located after the shooting contradicts all the witnesses, both the state and defense witnesses of where the shooter went and what direction the shooter left," said Andrews.

Gregory's mother detailed the family's limited financial resources and said he'd be living with his parents if the judge lowers his bond.

Andrews told the judge that data from the GPS ankle monitor shows Gregory had not gone in the same direction defense witnesses said the shooter went. 

"Defense witnesses also indicate that they could not identify the the person because a hoodie was covering their face the whole time," said Andrews.

Prosecutor Ryan Williams argued that two defense witnesses who materialized six months after the shooting are convicted felons, and one is Gregory's cousin. He said witnesses for the state are more credible.

"Three eyewitnesses, the witnesses closest to the defendant, picked him out of a photographic lineup within hours of the actual shooting itself," said Williams.

Shooting victim Calvin Johnson told WFTV Monday, "I feel like he was trying to kill me, to shoot me with an assault rifle. He was trying to kill me."

Johnson said if not for the grace of God and the work of his doctors, he would have died.

Circuit Judge Julie O'Kane did not rule Monday and did not say when she would rule.

Gregory is scheduled to go to trial in January.