Two Florida residents’ evening took a turn once neighbors heard multiple gunshots coming from their home, leading deputies to find both of them drinking and firing guns. Nobody was hurt, but both ended up in handcuffs anyway.
According to the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to a residence in the 5100 block of Happiness Street around 9 p.m. on Sept. 12 after a witness reported a man and woman actively firing multiple weapons, including a shotgun, rifle, and handguns.
Deputies determined the pair had been firing the weapons into the ground. Later, investigators also determined that both had been drinking. The two were identified as 25-year-old Tiffany Rose Lindo and 25-year-old Jacob Roibert Mills.
Both were arrested and charged with discharging a firearm in a public or residential area and using a firearm while under the influence of alcohol.
The Charges
Under Florida Statute 790.15, someone can be charged with a first-degree misdemeanor if they recklessly or negligently discharge a firearm outdoors on residential property. Notably, the statute includes an exception if the discharge doesn’t pose a reasonably foreseeable risk to life, safety, or property.
Florida Statute 790.151 states that prosecutors have to prove someone was under the influence of alcohol, a chemical substance, or a controlled substance to the point that their normal faculties were impaired. Having consumed alcohol beforehand isn’t automatically enough on its own; the impairment has to be established.
Nobody Was Hurt
The sheriff’s office emphasized that no one was injured during the incident but used the case as a reminder about mixing alcohol with firearms.
“If you are drinking, do not handle or discharge a firearm,” the department said in its release. “Put the firearm away, leave it alone, and make the responsible choice.”
Booking information shows both Lindo and Mills had a bond of $1,150 and were released Sunday morning. They are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
Online Reactions Had Some Thoughts
A few commenters couldn’t get past the location itself, joking about the irony of an arrest happening on a street literally named Happiness, with one noting that Lindo had a big smile as officers placed her into the patrol car.
Others were more skeptical about how the case would hold up legally, pointing out that firing a gun into the ground on private property isn’t automatically illegal under Florida law unless the discharge poses a real risk to life, safety, or property, and that drinking alcohol alone doesn’t meet the legal bar for impairment either.
They also predict that some or all of the charges could ultimately be dropped once the case moves forward.