A heated argument between members of the family on Christmas Eve resulted in a single sibling useless and two others headed to a Florida jail, authorities mentioned.
In response to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Workplace, Arielle Baldwin, 23, and her brothers, Damarcus and Darcus Coley, went procuring with their mom for the vacations over the weekend. Baldwin’s 11-month-old child and 6-year-old little one have been additionally current.
“Whereas they’re procuring, 15-year-old Darcus was jealous that their mom Joyce was getting 14-year-old Damarcus extra presents than he was receiving,” Sheriff Bob Gualtieri mentioned at a Dec. 27 press convention. “So that they had this household spat about who was getting what and what cash was being spent on who.”
The verbal dispute over presents continued when the household acquired to their grandmother’s residence, in Largo, Florida. Whereas the older boy was within the kitchen with their grandmother, Damarcus stood within the doorway and pulled out his semi-automatic handgun and threatened to shoot Darcus within the head, Gualtieri mentioned.
Damarcus tried to impress a combat together with his brother, however Darcus refused. An uncle who witnessed the argument determined to interrupt it up and led Damarcus into the driveway. Baldwin was trying to de-escalate the scenario, telling Demarcus they wanted to “go away that stuff alone” as a result of it was Christmas, the official mentioned.
Damarcus began cursing and insulting Baldwin whereas she was holding her 11-month-old in a child service in her hand. It escalated when Damarcus threatened to shoot her and her little one, after which he adopted up by capturing his sister within the chest. The newborn was not injured.
This prompted Darcus to come back outdoors moments later and allegedly shoot Damarcus within the abdomen with a special gun for what he did to their sister, per the sheriff’s workplace. Darcus immediately left the scene, chucked the firearm right into a yard, and traveled to a different member of the family’s house, the place he was taken into custody. The weapon hasn’t been discovered.
Officers mentioned Darcus was transported to a psychological well being facility as a result of he made “self-harm statements.” The teenager was charged with tried first-degree homicide and tampering with bodily proof. He’s anticipated to be transferred to the native juvenile detention middle after remedy.
Deputies found Baldwin and Damarcus with gunshot wounds on the scene. Baldwin succumbed to her accidents, whereas Damarcus survived. He’s in a hospital recovering from surgical procedure and dealing with a number of expenses, together with delinquent in possession of a firearm, little one abuse, and first-degree homicide.
Gualtieri mentioned that earlier than the capturing, Damarcus posted the identical weapon he used within the capturing on social media. Witnesses advised legislation enforcement that the brothers have been recognized to hold weapons within the neighborhood.
On the press convention, Gualtieri spoke about how juveniles are getting their arms on firearms.
“The issue is we acquired manner too many youngsters on the market with manner too many weapons. They’re getting them as a result of they’re shopping for it on the road low-cost… breaking into vehicles, they usually’re stealing the weapons out of the unlocked vehicles,” he added.
