ST. AUGUSTINE, FL — A man was shot and killed during an attempted five-man home invasion in St. Augustine, Florida, and now his four accomplices are being charged with his murder — including his own brother, according to WOKV.
The man inside the home they got their way into was armed, and in the face of five attackers, he didn’t have a lot of choice when it came to how much force to use.
As WOKV reports:
An affidavit for arrest warrant says four people have been charged with first degree murder because the shooting death happened during the commission of a felony. 24-year-old Paul Pettigrew died in the shooting on Cowan Road. Four men between the ages of 18 and 21 are now in custody, facing murder charges.
St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office Commander Chuck Mulligan says the homeowner has not been charged with any crime, and the investigation is ongoing.
The four suspects are identified as Christopher Pettigrew (who is the brother of the deceased), Zared Matthews, Jeffrey Balcom and Xavier Williams. In addition to the felony murder charge, all four suspect are charged with attempted robbery. On Thursday, St. Johns County Undersheriff Matthew Cline said their early investigation revealed that five individuals traveled from Duval County to this part of St. Johns County for something drug-related.
“Whether their presence was known by the residents on Cowan Road as being consensual or as a robbery, we’re not quite sure yet. Everyone is being interviewed as we speak. Obviously, things didn’t go very well. There were shots fired and an individual… is deceased on scene,” says Cline.
All four suspects were arrested through the day on Thursday.
“We had deputies that have suffered heat exhaustion. We’ve got deputies that are being treated at Flagler Hospital, as we speak,” says Cline.
But in the end, Cline says it was a citizen tip that led to the capture of the remaining two individuals.
I wish we saw this deterrent in every single state. If you are party to the commissioning of a crime and your accomplice dies — that that blood isn’t on your intended victim’s hands.
Now, absolutely, a lot of that guilt just goes to the person that died, himself. However, if someone helps plan an event in which someone dies — there has to be some culpability, there.
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