Convicted felon opens fire on armed homeowner who confronts him burglarizing car, cops say. But homeowner is the better shot.

An armed Florida homeowner confronted a convicted felon who was burglarizing his car in his driveway in late December, police said. But after the felon opened fire at the homeowner, the homeowner returned fire and wounded the suspect, police said.

The City of Palm Bay Police Department said the suspect in question has been identified as 26-year-old Javone Williams, WOFL-TV reported. Palm Bay is about four miles south of Melbourne on the state’s east coast.

Jail records also indicate Williams was arrested three other times in 2024, once in 2023, four times in 2020, twice in 2017, and twice in 2016.

Officers told the station they responded to reports on Dec. 27 of a suspicious vehicle in the area of the 500 block of Titan Road SE. One caller described the vehicle in question as a silver SUV parked in front of the caller’s home, WOFL said.

Police told the station that while they were headed to the reported location, another call came in describing a similar vehicle being involved in a shooting at another residence on the same street.

Officers told WOFL they found shell casings in the road after heading to the location of the reported shooting.

The resident told police his Ring camera alerted him to activity in his driveway, so he exited his home armed with a gun and saw two males going through his vehicles, the station said.

The resident confronted the pair, one of whom shot at the resident, who then returned fire, WOFL said, citing the police report. The shoot-out took place around 1 a.m., WKMG-TV reported, adding that the homeowner was “OK” in the aftermath.

Police at the scene then learned of a person who had been shot arriving at a nearby emergency room, the station said, adding that police identified the individual as Williams.

Police said Williams told them he and his friend were shot at while they were near a different location, but officers noted that they found no shell casings or evidence of a shooting near that location — nor were Williams’ wounds consistent with the story he told police, WOFL said.

The police report also states that Williams told officers he was in an Uber his girlfriend requested, but the girlfriend told police this wasn’t true, the station said.

More from WOFL:

Police say surveillance video shows the two men searching two separate vehicles, and one begins shooting at the resident before they are driven off by another person in the driver’s seat of a car.

Although officers say Williams is wearing the same pants in the video as he was at the hospital, police say he denied being involved in the incident and refused to provide DNA.

Officers say they performed a gun-shot residue test on Williams after he was cleared at the hospital, and the test was positive.

Jail records indicate Williams was charged with numerous felonies in connection with the shoot-out. They include armed burglary with a firearm, aggravated assault with a firearm, discharging a firearm from a vehicle, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, the station said. WKMG said a judge revoked Williams’ bond and that he could receive life in prison.

Jail records also indicate Williams was arrested three other times in 2024, once in 2023, four times in 2020, twice in 2017, and twice in 2016.

You can view a video report here about the Dec. 27 shoot-out.

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