A bedroom door was all that separated two Florida roommates from a man deputies say opened fire after an argument Thursday night.
The room was occupied when the shots came through the door of a Deltona home. One bullet made it as far as a bed, but nobody was injured.
The alleged shooter had another unusual detail working against him when deputies pieced together what happened: the Volusia Sheriff’s Office said he was wearing body armor during the shooting.
By the time deputies arrived at the Saxon Boulevard home, the shooter was gone. Three days later, Kenneth Stewart, 60, was in custody in Daytona Beach facing a collection of charges tied to the confrontation.
Through The Door
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Deputies were called to 1087 Saxon Boulevard at about 10:30 p.m. on Sept. 17 after receiving a report of shots fired through a bedroom door.
An initial Volusia Sheriff’s Office activity report described the case as an aggravated assault stemming from a dispute between roommates.
The bedroom was occupied at the time. The rounds passed through the door and struck an interior wall, with one bullet landing on a bed.
No one was injured.
The initial report did not identify the shooter and said he had fled before deputies arrived. The case remained active.
Armored Up
The sheriff’s office identified Stewart in a later update and said he had fired through the bedroom door of two roommates following an argument.
Deputies also said Stewart was wearing body armor during the incident.
That detail produced one of the more unusual charges in the case. In addition to two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and shooting into an occupied dwelling, Stewart was charged with possession of a bulletproof vest while committing aggravated assault.
Florida has a statute specifically addressing that conduct. Section 775.0846 of the Florida Statutes prohibits possessing a bulletproof vest while committing or attempting several specified offenses, including aggravated assault, when possession of the vest is in the course of and in furtherance of the crime.
The statute defines a qualifying bulletproof vest in terms of minimum ballistic protection rather than simply banning body armor on its own.
Found In Daytona
Stewart remained away from the Deltona home after the shooting, but the search did not extend far into the following week.
The sheriff’s office announced Sunday that Stewart had been arrested in Daytona Beach.
His charges also include shooting into an occupied dwelling. Florida law separately prohibits wantonly or maliciously shooting at, within, or into a public or private building, whether the building is occupied or unoccupied.
The sheriff’s office said neither roommate was injured.