A Leesburg man who hitched a ride was arrested Thursday morning after a man was beaten and shot inside a mobile home on E Hwy. 42 near Weirsdale.
Marion County sheriff’s deputies scrambled to the residence around 5:30 a.m. after receiving calls about the shooting. Upon arrival, they heard yelling inside the residence and attempted to enter the home. They saw blood and then heard a shotgun being discharged, a sheriff’s office report states.
Deputies took cover and while awaiting backup to arrive heard more gunshots coming from inside the mobile home. At least one of the rounds exited the mobile home and deputies reported they were in fear of being shot.
A short time later, the sheriff’s office’s SWAT team arrived on scene and 40-year-old Byron Gardiner exited the residence with a 20-gauge shotgun and three rounds of ammunition, the report says.
Gardiner was transported to the Marion County Jail and charged with attempted murder, assault on a law enforcement officer and two counts of possession of a weapon or ammunition by a convicted felon. He was being held on $45,000 bond.
The shooting victim, whose name hasn’t been released, told deputies he had been at the Fish Games internet café in Ocklawaha when he ran into a friend. He said she asked him for a ride home and asked if he also would give Gardiner a ride.
The victim dropped his friend off in Belleview and then stopped by his residence to change his shirt. He said Gardiner asked if he could come inside and get a drink and as they started talking, he made accusations against him, the victim said.
The victim claimed that Gardiner started punching him and an altercation ensued. He said Gardiner grabbed him by the throat and choked him and then grabbed a 20-gauge shotgun that was in the room and started hitting him with it. The victim said he believed he was knocked unconscious and when he woke up, Gardiner was in his kitchen making himself a sandwich with one hand and holding they shotgun with the other, the report says.
The victim said he heard Gardiner shooting the gun and he then started hitting him in the head with the stock and barrel. He said at one point, Gardiner came near him and shot him as he tried to grab the shotgun, the report says.
The victim said he eventually starting throwing sawhorses at Gardiner as he tried to escape from his residence. He said he attempted to kick open his back door but it was locked, so he ran toward a bedroom with Gardiner shooting at him. He then escaped through a window and went to a neighbor’s house to call 911, the report says, adding that the man believed Gardiner “was trying to kill him and he thought he was going to die.”
The victim was treated at an area hospital for his wounds. Hwy. 42 was closed in both directions for several hours.