A 20-year-old Auburndale man is facing two counts of attempted murder after police say he struck his girlfriend during a domestic dispute, took her cellphone, and then fired two rounds toward her and her young child as they fled. Danford Thornton-Swain was arrested Thursday after officers tracked him down near a motel along U.S. Highway 92 West, not far from where the confrontation began.
According to FOX 13 Tampa Bay, the incident unfolded around 11:45 a.m. Wednesday near Timothy Street and Ernest Drive in Auburndale, where Thornton-Swain was involved in a domestic dispute with his girlfriend. Police say he hit the woman, then took her cellphone before firing two rounds from a gun in the direction of her and the child. Neither the woman nor the child was struck by the gunfire, according to police.
Suspect Ran, Was Found Near U.S. 92 Motel
Police say Thornton-Swain ran from the neighborhood scene after the shooting and was later located by Auburndale officers near Motel 92, a commercial lodging facility at 1802 U.S. Highway 92 West, near a local Walmart Supercenter, per Motel 92. The motel sits along the primary commercial corridor connecting Auburndale to surrounding cities. Officers took him into custody there without further incident, the station's report notes.
Per the same account, the young Auburndale man born January 27, 2006, faces a lengthy list of charges: two counts of attempted murder, domestic battery, robbery without a firearm, witness tampering, criminal mischief, discharging a firearm in public, and improper exhibition of a firearm. Police say the damaged cellphone prevented the woman from contacting law enforcement during the incident, according to the report.
What Florida Law Says About the Charges
Florida statutes treat several of these allegations as some of the most serious in the criminal code. Attempted first-degree murder is reclassified as a first-degree felony punishable by up to 30 years or life in prison under state law, according to Stewart Law Firm, which notes prosecutors must establish specific intent to kill along with an overt act toward committing the crime. If convicted on the firearm discharge counts, Thornton-Swain would face a mandatory minimum under Florida's so-called “10-20-Life” law, which removes judicial discretion once a firearm is discharged during a violent felony, according to Brancato Law Firm. That statute, enacted in 1999, sets mandatory floors of 10 years for possessing a firearm during a qualifying crime, 20 years for discharging it, and 25 years to life if bodily harm or death results.
Taking or damaging a phone specifically to stop a victim from calling 911 is prosecuted separately in Florida as witness tampering, a third-degree felony carrying up to five years in prison, according to Meltzer & Bell, P.A., which characterizes intentionally blocking emergency calls as an aggressive form of interference in domestic incidents. Separately, forcibly taking property like a cellphone from a person — even without a weapon involved in the taking itself — is categorized under Florida Statute § 812.13(2)(c) as robbery without a firearm, a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years, per Zelman Law.
A Pattern of Violent Domestic Calls in Auburndale
The Auburndale Police Department, headquartered at 2 Bobby Green Plaza and led by Chief Terry J. Storie since October 2022, provided the information underlying the case. This is not the department's only high-risk domestic call this week: Hoodline reported that an Auburndale woman faces 10 felonies after a 90-minute standoff on Joey Drive tied to an aggravated child abuse warrant, which required officers to deploy chemical agents to end the confrontation.
The city has seen a string of violent domestic and firearm-related incidents through the summer, including a July police cruiser ramming and a fatal domestic shooting, as well as a road-rage confrontation along the U.S. 92 corridor in which a Lakeland driver flashed a gun at a family before surrendering. Auburndale, a fast-growing central Polk County city of more than 21,000 residents along U.S. 92 between Lakeland and Winter Haven, has also seen at least one prior Auburndale shooting case result in a murder conviction after a failed stand-your-ground defense earlier this year.
Open questions remain in Thornton-Swain's case, including whether he legally possessed the handgun used in the shooting and whether a Polk County judge has issued a no-contact order or formal pretrial detention. It is also unclear whether prosecutors will pursue a grand jury indictment or seek additional enhanced sentencing charges as the case moves forward.
Polk County recorded more than 13,000 domestic violence cases reported to state law enforcement in 2022, and the Peace River Center serves as the county's primary certified domestic violence shelter provider, offering a 24-hour crisis line at 863-413-2700 along with emergency shelter, counseling, and safety planning across Polk, Hardee, and Highlands Counties, according to the Peace River Center.
