A Florida woman who shot a man during a road rage incident in Orlando back in December 2024 has caused a rift between the state attorney general and the Orange-Osceola state attorney.
That case revolves around 48-year-old Tina Allgeo, who fatally shot Tarlov Tsvetkov after an altercation in traffic. Allgeo was indicted by a grand jury in February of this year, though even police reports show that she was not the initial aggressor in the incident. Reports also indicate that she had reason to believe that her life was in danger when she drew her gun and shot her assailant.
According to a report at orlandosentinel.com, Allgeo encountered Tsvetkov as they drove along East Colonial Drive near Primrose Avenue, east of downtown Orlando, as the man followed closely behind her.
“According to reports by the Orlando Police Department, the two quarreled after Tsvetkov struck Allgeo’s car and then struck her during an attempt to escape after she got out of her car to survey the damage to her rear bumper,” the Sentinel reported. “It further escalated when Allgeo side-swiped his car—accidentally, she told police in a written statement—as she followed him to get a closer look at his license plate. Video surveillance then showed Tsvetkov exit his car, open her driver’s side door and punch her repeatedly while trying to drag her out her vehicle before she shot him in the face.”
Allgeo was subsequently arrested. She was later released on bond.
Now, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier is demanding that Orange-Osceola State Attorney Monique Worrell drop the charges and recognize that Allgeo was acting in self-defense.
“Monique Worrell may not like Florida’s Stand Your Ground laws, but those laws reflect our God-given right to self-defense,” AG Uthmeier said in a September 8 post on X. “In the case of Tina Allgeo, State Attorney Worrell should reconsider her prosecution.”
In a video accompanying the X post, AG Uthmeier stated: “This morning, our office is again putting Orlando State Attorney Monique Worrell on notice. You got it wrong in a recent case. You acted in error. State Attorney Worrell, who historically has not prosecuted a lot of cases she should have, did so here in a case against a woman who justifiably engaged in self-defense, who justifiably stood her ground.”
He continued: “The offender got out of his car, he went over and approached Tina’s unmoving vehicle, ripped open the door, violently attacked her, hit her and tried to drag her out of her vehicle. It was at this point that Tina grabbed a lawfully owned firearm and engaged in deadly force. She was being attacked in a confined space, her own car. Under Florida law, she justifiably stood her ground and acted in self-defense.”
For her part, Worrell claimed in March that Allgeo “provoked the entire incident.”
“After Mr. Tsvetkov left their initial encounter, she pursued him, struck his vehicle with hers, which prohibits Ms. Allgeo from using self-defense as a claim if she’s in the commission,” Worrell said.
While Allgeo is planned to have a hearing next month where she and her attorney can argue that she was acting in self-defense, Worrell has the discretion and authority to drop the charges before that hearing. Whether or not she will heed AG Uthmeier’s advice remains to be seen.
Read the full article here