Deputies with the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office rushed to the 5100 block of Happiness Street in Fort Pierce around 9 p.m. on September 12 after neighbors called 911 reporting active gunfire. When it was over, 25-year-olds Tiffany Rose Lindo and Jacob Robert Mills were in handcuffs, accused of firing a shotgun, rifle and handguns into the ground while drinking alcohol before and during the incident, according to CBS12 News.
According to CBS12 News, deputies responded to reports of people actively firing guns in the residential neighborhood, and no one was hurt. A neighbor who lives roughly 300 feet from where the shots rang out told the outlet he heard what he described as a barrage of gunfire and feared someone was being shot. A neighbor called 911 after hearing multiple gunshots in the area.
Lindo and Mills were arrested on charges of discharging a firearm in a public or residential area and using a firearm while under the influence of alcohol, the station's report states. Florida law classifies the discharge offense as a first-degree misdemeanor carrying up to one year in county jail, while the impaired firearm-use charge is a second-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to 60 days in jail. Under Florida Statute § 775.083, a first-degree misdemeanor conviction can also bring a fine of up to $1,000, while a second-degree misdemeanor conviction under § 790.151 can carry a fine of up to $500, according to the FindLaw and Sammis Law Firm legal references.
What Neighbors Say They Heard and Feared
The neighbor who reported the gunfire told the same outlet that he feared bullets could reach nearby homes. He also said alcohol should not be combined with handling firearms.
What National Firearm Data Can — and Cannot — Show
National public-health figures provide broad context but do not directly measure the Happiness Street allegations. According to the Office of the Surgeon General's 2024 advisory, firearm-related deaths in the United States in 2022 included suicides, homicides, legal-intervention deaths, unintentional injuries and deaths of unknown intent; suicides accounted for 56.1% and homicides for 40.8%, with the remainder in the other categories. Those figures are distinct from this incident, in which no injuries were reported, and they do not establish an alcohol-related or Florida-specific rate for the alleged discharge.
Prosecutors must still prove the elements of the charges, and Fort Pierce criminal defense attorney Brian Mallonee told the same outlet that Florida's firearm-discharge law hinges on specific circumstances about where and how a gun is fired. Mallonee said property size and residential density can affect whether the discharge offense applies, but he noted that negligently or recklessly firing a weapon can be illegal regardless of how much land someone owns.
How Alcohol and Intent Could Shape the Case
Mallonee said the alcohol allegations against Lindo and Mills could factor into whether the firearm handling or discharge itself was negligent or reckless, and that any eventual sentence would depend on the pair's prior record along with how reckless or negligent their conduct is found to be. He added that if a bullet had struck a home, vehicle or person, it could potentially lead to different, more serious charges — something prosecutors did not allege happened in this case.
Florida Statute § 790.151 defines using a firearm while impaired as either discharging the weapon or having it readily accessible for immediate discharge, meaning loaded and in a person's hand, according to Online Sunshine, Florida's official statutes portal. Under a related statute, a chemical test showing a blood alcohol level of 0.10 percent or higher creates a legal presumption of impairment in firearm cases, while a reading of 0.05 percent or lower creates a presumption against impairment.
Firearms Held as Evidence, Pair Already Free on Bond
Both Lindo and Mills have since bonded out of jail, and the Sheriff's Office took the firearms involved as evidence, CBS12 News reported. The pair may recover the weapons once the case is resolved. Florida law requires that non-forfeited seized firearms be returned to their owners within 30 days of a request, provided a background check confirms the person is legally permitted to possess them, under a statute amended by the Legislature in 2024, per a report from Florida Senate.
The Happiness Street arrests come as another gunfire investigation involving a convicted felon accused of firing into a backyard near Langston Drive after hearing a noise. Negligence or recklessness may also be relevant in backyard shooting cases.
