A DeLand man was in jail without bail June 8 for a weekend shooting outside a discount store in Orange City that happened after an argument started over a “Hey, beautiful” comment he made to the victim, police wrote in an arrest report.
Police said they found the 46-year-old victim shirtless with two bullet wounds to the lower right side of his back.
Joseph Aviles, 21, was booked into the Volusia County Branch Jail on June 7, charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.
Orange City Police said the shooting occurred in the parking lot of Ollie’s Bargain Outlet located within the Market Place Plaza at 810 Saxon Blvd. around 10:40 a.m. June 6.
DeLand man shoots victim after ‘Hi, beautiful’ comment, police said
In the arrest report, Orange City police said a witness, who was with the victim, reported that the argument started after Aviles said “Hi, beautiful” to the victim.
A verbal argument broke out, and the witness said he tried to get the victim to walk away. The witness said he physically removed the victim from the confrontation, and Aviles got into a car. As the car pulled away, Aviles fired three shots from the passenger’s window at the victim, hitting him twice, police noted in the report.
The victim was transported to HCA Florida Lake Monroe Hospital in Sanford with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
Aviles did not know the man he shot, police said.
DeLand man’s ex-girlfriend reported victim said ‘Hey, beautiful’ to her first before getting shot, report shows
Aviles, his ex-girlfriend, and a child fled from the scene of the shooting in her car. The woman said she dropped Aviles in the 2700 block of Enterprise Road and left, the report said.
The woman was later stopped on Plymouth Avenue and taken in for questioning. The woman cooperated with police, the report said.
The woman said she and Aviles had gone to Ollie’s Bargain Outlet to buy things for her son’s upcoming birthday. As they looked for a parking spot, a car with the victim in it pulled alongside her and he said “Hey, beautiful” to her, the report said.
After parking, Aviles walked up to the victim and said “Hey, beautiful” to him and that started an argument, according to what the woman told police.
The woman said she repeatedly told the victim to stay back because she didn’t want any problems, but the victim became very aggressive, took off his shirt, and said he was going to kill Aviles, the woman said, according to the report.
Aviles warned the victim that he had a gun, the report shows.
The woman claimed that the victim became very aggressive and approached reaching for his waistband, the report states.
Believing that the victim was armed, and fearing for the safety of the woman and her son, Aviles fired his gun at the victim, the woman is noted as saying in the report.
It was not immediately known June 8 if the ex-girlfriend faces charges.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: DeLand man shoots victim over ‘Hey, beautiful’ comment, cops say
Reporting by Patricio G. Balona, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Patricio G. Balona, Daytona Beach News-Journal | USA TODAY Network
