A dispute over a stolen vape pen escalated into a hail of gunfire on a quiet Gibsonton street last August, and now a Tampa jury is being asked to sort out what happened in the seconds before the shooting started. Opening statements got underway Tuesday morning in the attempted-murder trial, with prosecutors describing a chaotic confrontation on Southwind Lake Drive and the defense insisting their client ran because he believed his own life was in danger.
A Vape Pen, A Garage, And A Standoff
According to FOX 13 Tampa Bay, prosecutors say Isaiah Gibson was with a group of people in a garage on Southwind Lake Drive when some of the men took a vape pen that didn't belong to them from a home across the street. A woman went to retrieve the device, and when nobody answered her knock at the door, she came back to the house with Gibson. FOX 13 describes Gibson as 23 years old, though a separate report published by yahoo.com states that the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office arrested a 22-year-old Isaiah Gibson at the time and charged him with attempted murder in the second degree, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, and discharging a firearm in public or on a residential property.
Prosecutors told the courtroom that Gibson opened fire as a man came around the front of the house and the woman tried to push him back across the street, per the FOX 13 account. They say Gibson fired almost two dozen rounds into the Gibsonton neighborhood before fleeing the scene. Home security cameras reportedly captured the shooting from multiple angles, and the station's report notes that its account draws on court proceedings, security camera footage, and opening statements from both prosecution and defense.
Conflicting Accounts Of What Bullets Struck
Exactly what the gunfire hit depends on which account you read. FOX 13's report states that prosecutors said some bullets hit a car and a neighboring home before Gibson fled. A separate report published by yahoo.com, citing investigators, says bullets struck a vehicle, a palm tree, and several homes. That same report states that Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office detectives responded to Southwind Lake Drive on August 11 after multiple shots rang out in the area, and that surveillance video captured a dispute at the residence that ended in gunfire.
Defense Says Fear, Not Intent To Kill, Drove Gibson's Actions
Gibson's public defender, Jason Back, offered a starkly different narrative during opening statements. Back argued that Gibson and a co-defendant identified as McClendon ran away in fear after seeing someone approach, telling the court that the approaching person moved aggressively and appeared to extend something resembling a firearm, per the station's report. The defense's broader argument, as described in the same coverage, is that Gibson fled the scene because he feared being shot himself — not that he set out to harm anyone.
Gibson faces charges including attempted murder and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon stemming from the August 2025 shooting. Under Florida Statutes §777.04, criminal attempt is classified as a felony of the third degree, punishable under separate sentencing statutes — though that provision addresses the general framework for attempt charges rather than this specific case. The trial is expected to continue with additional testimony Wednesday, according to FOX 13's reporting.
