Neighbors in Port Charlotte reported gunfire Sunday, prompting a response from Charlotte County deputies. The arrest and charges in this case involve Dwight White.
Charlotte County deputies responded to the gunfire Sunday, and the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office issued a shelter-in-place alert for the area, according to Gulf Coast News Now.
Gunfire Damaged a Home and a Vehicle
Detectives found bullet holes in the exterior of a Kellstadt Street home and in the rear door of a nearby vehicle, as well as spent shell casings in White's yard, according to tampafp.com. That account also reported no injuries.
Neighbors gave differing accounts of the number of shots. Gulf Coast News Now reported that one neighbor told deputies White fired twice at him in a backyard, while another said he was shot at four or five times and that bullets struck his home and car.
The Daily Sun reported that Tyler Davis, who lives in the house behind Powell's, heard shots getting closer.
White Faces Multiple Charges
According to tampafp.com's account of the arrest, multiple 911 calls led to White's arrest Sunday. Witnesses told investigators that he had been yelling in his backyard before pointing a rifle at them and firing. The Charlotte County Sheriff's Office said White has a 2005 Miami-Dade County conviction for first-degree attempted murder.
White now faces two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and failure to register as a convicted felon, according to tampafp.com's reporting on the arrest.
Gulf Coast News Now reported that a judge held White without bond on the two aggravated-assault charges, telling him, “I'm holding you on no bond.” The judge set bonds of $200,000 on the firearm-possession charge and $5,000 on the failure-to-register charge, the outlet reported. White remains in the Charlotte County jail.
Another Port Charlotte Gunfire Incident
In a separate Port Charlotte incident, deputies responded to the area of Starlite Lane on Oct. 9 after calls about gunfire and identified the arrested man as Travis Allan Price, according to WWSB.
A Separate Case: Paris Powell's Exoneration
Paris Powell's wrongful-conviction case is separate from White's. Powell spent about 12 years and five months on Oklahoma's death row before his conviction was overturned. The Equal Justice Initiative reported that a federal appeals court found in 2006 that prosecutors had illegally withheld information about a deal with a key witness. Powell and co-defendant Yancy Douglas were exonerated and released from death row on Oct. 2, 2009, according to the Equal Justice Initiative.
The witness, a rival gang member, had testified against Powell and Douglas under a deal that was not disclosed to the defense, the Equal Justice Initiative reported. He later said he had not seen the shooter, was drunk and high that night, and testified because prosecutors threatened him with more prison time. The charges against both men were ultimately dropped, and they were released on Oct. 2, 2009, according to the National Registry of Exonerations.
Powell later settled a lawsuit over his wrongful conviction, the Daily Sun reported.
