A Dunnellon man was arrested Thursday in connection with the shooting death of his wife’s ex-husband a day earlier.
Eric Matthews, 47, was taken into custody early Thursday morning by Marion County Sheriff’s Major Crimes detectives and charged with second degree murder and two counts of battery. He is being held at the Marion County Jail on no bond.
The shooting, which left 50-year-old Gerald Lee Bryant dead, occurred Wednesday night around 7 p.m. at 13365 SW 106th Place in Dunnellon. Bryant’s ex-wife and the three children he was attempting to visit were inside the home and witnessed the shooting, a sheriff’s office report states.
During the ensuing investigation, sheriffs’ deputies and detectives discovered that Matthews is married to Bryant’s ex-wife and was living with her and his children.
The woman had invited Bryant to come to her home to visit with the children, a sheriff’s office report states.
That apparently upset Matthews, so he drove to the house and got into a physical altercation with Bryant. During the incident, Matthews allegedly shot Bryant in the chest, the report states, adding that the Spring Hill man died later at a hospital.