Last week a Greensboro man was found guilty of firing shots into a truck occupied by five children.
According to a press release from State Attorney Jack Campbell’s office, the incident happened on August 5, 2022. The victims had been at a family party that was located next door to the defendant’s home. Earlier in the evening, the defendant, Jason Ellis, shot a shotgun up in the air in the direction of the victims and their families. As the victim rode past the defendant’s home, the defendant opened fire on them, firing at least 6 shots into the truck and shattering the truck’s back window, the state attorney’s office says. None of the victims were struck by bullets. The driver of the truck gave police a description of the shooter. When police arrived, they quickly located the defendant in his front yard, shirtless, wearing blue jean shorts. Multiple rifle casings were found in the area where the shooter was, and a bullet was later recovered from a tree. That tree was in the same path that the victims were in when they were fired upon.
Law enforcement officers obtained and executed a search warrant for Ellis’ home where they found an AK-47 rifle, multiple boxes of ammunition consistent with the spent casings located at the scene, additional firearms, and additional firearm accessories. The rifle was examined by an expert from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Firearms section who determined that that rifle was the same rifle that fired the projectile at the victims and was the same rifle that fired the spent casings found in the defendant’s yard.
Trial was held on Aug. 26-28. Ellis was convicted on five counts of attempted first degree premeditated murder, one for each victim in the truck. The defendant was also convicted of shooting Into an occupied vehicle, discharging a firearm in public, and improper exhibition of a firearm.
The defendant is set to be sentenced on Oct. 2 before Judge Ronald Flury in the Gadsden County Felony Courtroom. The defendant faces a minimum mandatory sentence of twenty years, with a maximum sentence of life in prison. The case was prosecuted by Assistant State Attorney McLane Edwards and Assistant State Attorney James Beville.
Erin Hill – Gadsden County News Service
