Man who drove semitruck into Tampa strip club convicted of murder

Giovanni Soto’s family members held each other and gasped with relief in a Tampa courtroom Wednesday night as the verdict was read.

Dylan Fogle, who had driven a semitruck into a group of people standing outside a Tampa strip club last year, killing Soto and seriously injuring two others, was guilty as charged, a jury had decided.

The verdict marked the end of a trial this week that mostly hinged on one question: Did Fogle plan to kill people standing near the loading dock at the back of Emperors Gentlemen’s Club in the early morning hours of Aug. 13, 2024?

Neither the state nor defense disputed that the then-25-year-old North Carolina native had drunkenly rammed his company truck into the group. But if prosecutors could convince jurors that he did so on purpose, he faced a first-degree murder conviction and a mandatory life sentence.

Fogle’s defense attorney, Assistant Public Defender Maria Dunker, argued her client was too intoxicated to make the decision to kill someone. She told jurors an alternative account, in which Fogle used his semi to defend a friend in a skirmish with staff outside the club.

Jurors took about two hours and 45 minutes to find Fogle guilty of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted first-degree murder.

He also was convicted of vehicular homicide, DUI manslaughter and two counts of DUI with serious bodily injury.

“His death was not just the loss of a man,” said Jazlyne Soto, Giovanni Soto’s daughter. “It was the loss of my father, my mentor, my best friend and the foundation of our family.”

Testimony this week from those injured in the crash, police investigators and associates of Fogle’s painted a picture of the events that night.

Anthony Matelsky, Fogle’s longtime friend, testified that the two men had met for dinner and drinks after work that Monday.

They then showered and headed to Emperors in Matelsky’s pickup. The two can be seen in camera footage fighting briefly outside the club before seemingly making amends and heading inside.

According to police records, Fogle was kicked out of the club after a dancer said he had tried to touch her “in an inappropriate manner.”

Over the course of the next hour, Fogle walked down East Adamo Drive, retrieved his company semitruck and parked at the south end of the Emperors lot.

Assistant State Attorney Christina Berkowicz said Fogle, who was heavily intoxicated, made 53 phone calls and sent multiple texts between the time he left the club and the crash.

“Goodbye,” he wrote in texts showed to the jury. “I’m going to prison for vehicular manslaughter.”

Matelsky remained inside the club. The same dancer who accused Fogle of bad behavior said Matelsky also acted inappropriately with her, and he was escorted out of the club, according to the police report.

Matelsky is seen in security footage fighting with staff and patrons near the loading dock at the club’s rear entrance. After getting pushed to the ground, Matelsky got back on his feet and continued the skirmish.

Fogle crashed the semiinto the group moments later, instantly killing Soto and injuring two employees.

Footage shows a group of people pull Fogle out of the truck and strike him multiple times before police arrived.

Dunker, Fogle’s defense attorney, argued Wednesday that Fogle was defending his friend and that he didn’t have an intent to kill anyone.

“We’re trying to apply logic to a drunk, drunk man,” Dunker said.

Berkowicz argued that Fogle had conscious intent when he got his truck and drove it to Emperors before the incident.

“He wanted to kill someone,” Berkowicz said. “And he wanted to use a vehicle to do it.”

Berkowicz rebuffed arguments from defense attorneys that Fogle may have tried to brake at the last second before the crash, saying it was only in self-interest.

“You don’t get brownie points for that,” Berkowicz said.

The guilty verdicts were read shortly after 7 p.m. Wednesday, after which Judge Lyann Goudie sentenced Fogleto life in prison without parole as required by state law.

Afterward,Jazylne Soto spoke about her father’s impact on her life.

“He worked hard to make sure I had everything a child could need in life,” Soto said. “But even more importantly, he gave me the kind of love and security that cannot be replaced.”