Burglary suspect takes a bullet below the belt
Sloane Stephens Cox
@PensacolaNewsJournal.com
A gunshot wound to the groin foiled an apparent burglary at a west Pensacola apartment Sunday morning.
Joshua David Beard, 19, of the 7900 block of Beulah Road has been charged with armed burglary, according to a report from the Escambia County Sheriff's Office. He was shot after threatening the occupants, which included four children, of a unit at Heritage Lake apartments, 10075 W. U.S. 98, and after attempting to break in, the report stated.
Beard has about 10 prior arrests, said Rhonda Ray, spokeswoman for the Sheriff's Office.
"He has quite a record dating back to at least 1997, which is pretty amazing if you consider that he's only 19 now," Ray said.
He was listed in serious condition following surgery at Baptist Hospital, a hospital spokeswoman said.
No charges will be filed against the shooter, Daniel Mitchell - a Pensacola resident who, investigators determined, acted in self defense.
Investigators believe that an altercation between Beard, Mitchell and April Deck - a 22-year- old who lives in the Heritage Lake apartment - Saturday night at an unidentified downtown Pensacola night club sparked the incident, Ray said.
After the altercation, Deck received several harassing, threatening phone calls and notified the Sheriff's Office. After a deputy arrived at her apartment to investigate, Deck received another harassing call. The deputy got on the phone and warned the caller not to call back.
The deputy advised Deck of two options: filing a restraining order or activating a call-block feature through the phone company.
At about 7 a.m. Sunday, officers were notified about a burglary in progress at Deck's apartment. As deputies headed to the scene, dispatchers, who remained on the phone with the caller, heard what sounded like two gunshots. Then the phone disconnected, Ray said.
Immediately after that, a call came in from the same address, reporting a shooting. When deputies arrived, Beard was lying in the grass in front of the apartment.
Witnesses told investigators that, just before the shooting, a man had been pounding on the door with a small-caliber handgun. Someone inside the apartment let him in, Ray said.
"But they did it out of fear," she said. "He had threatened to shoot."
Deck, one of several occupants of the apartment, was downstairs when the intruder entered. She jumped on him and tried to wrestle the gun away, Ray said. The intruder fired two shots at her. Mitchell warned the intruder verbally, fired a warning shot with a .22-caliber rifle and then, from the top of the stairs, shot Beard, Ray said.
The children apparently were upstairs asleep at the time of the shooting. Ray said she did not believe the children, who are as young as 2, witnessed the incident.
"We used to have no problems in this area," said Angela Kelly, who lives in the complex. She said she thinks the shots didn't wake her because she has grown accustomed to what she said was a noisy residence.
"People are coming and going from that apartment all the time," she said.
http://www.pensacolanewsjournal.com/news/102102/Local/ST003.shtml
Sloane Stephens Cox
@PensacolaNewsJournal.com
A gunshot wound to the groin foiled an apparent burglary at a west Pensacola apartment Sunday morning.
Joshua David Beard, 19, of the 7900 block of Beulah Road has been charged with armed burglary, according to a report from the Escambia County Sheriff's Office. He was shot after threatening the occupants, which included four children, of a unit at Heritage Lake apartments, 10075 W. U.S. 98, and after attempting to break in, the report stated.
Beard has about 10 prior arrests, said Rhonda Ray, spokeswoman for the Sheriff's Office.
"He has quite a record dating back to at least 1997, which is pretty amazing if you consider that he's only 19 now," Ray said.
He was listed in serious condition following surgery at Baptist Hospital, a hospital spokeswoman said.
No charges will be filed against the shooter, Daniel Mitchell - a Pensacola resident who, investigators determined, acted in self defense.
Investigators believe that an altercation between Beard, Mitchell and April Deck - a 22-year- old who lives in the Heritage Lake apartment - Saturday night at an unidentified downtown Pensacola night club sparked the incident, Ray said.
After the altercation, Deck received several harassing, threatening phone calls and notified the Sheriff's Office. After a deputy arrived at her apartment to investigate, Deck received another harassing call. The deputy got on the phone and warned the caller not to call back.
The deputy advised Deck of two options: filing a restraining order or activating a call-block feature through the phone company.
At about 7 a.m. Sunday, officers were notified about a burglary in progress at Deck's apartment. As deputies headed to the scene, dispatchers, who remained on the phone with the caller, heard what sounded like two gunshots. Then the phone disconnected, Ray said.
Immediately after that, a call came in from the same address, reporting a shooting. When deputies arrived, Beard was lying in the grass in front of the apartment.
Witnesses told investigators that, just before the shooting, a man had been pounding on the door with a small-caliber handgun. Someone inside the apartment let him in, Ray said.
"But they did it out of fear," she said. "He had threatened to shoot."
Deck, one of several occupants of the apartment, was downstairs when the intruder entered. She jumped on him and tried to wrestle the gun away, Ray said. The intruder fired two shots at her. Mitchell warned the intruder verbally, fired a warning shot with a .22-caliber rifle and then, from the top of the stairs, shot Beard, Ray said.
The children apparently were upstairs asleep at the time of the shooting. Ray said she did not believe the children, who are as young as 2, witnessed the incident.
"We used to have no problems in this area," said Angela Kelly, who lives in the complex. She said she thinks the shots didn't wake her because she has grown accustomed to what she said was a noisy residence.
"People are coming and going from that apartment all the time," she said.
http://www.pensacolanewsjournal.com/news/102102/Local/ST003.shtml
Maybe he's a little shorter than before.