A now 30-year-old Clay County man has been found guilty of second-degree murder after shooting his ex-girlfriend on Christmas Day 2020 who was trying to take back their 2-year son.
Kiaun Shannard Miller faces up to life in prison once he’s sentenced in May following the March 11 verdict, court records show. He was arrested at the scene where 26-year-old Shantdella Garcon and their 2-year-old son had recently moved in with him and his new girlfriend at The Park at Matera Apartments on Spencer Road in Orange Park
On Dec. 21, 2020, Miller and Garcon took what was supposed to be a day trip to Orlando, but that evening Miller returned to the apartment without her after an argument, the State Attorney’s Office said. Four days later, she returned to the apartment to get her son. Another argument ensued that became physical.
“During that time, Miller retrieved a handgun and pointed it at the victim as she held their son and told her that she was not taking their child,” the State Attorney’s Office said. “As she walked out, he followed her and took the son from her and went back inside the apartment. The victim returned inside to retrieve the child and another argument ensued with the victim slapping Miller. He then shot her three times.”
A neighbor told detectives he heard a commotion and three gunshots next door. He said he rushed his family upstairs and overheard the victim scream, “Let me in, I’m dying, I’m dying.”
Miller’s current girlfriend also was there and told detectives Garcon took her cell phone and boy after the first altercation, according to the arrest report. She said Miller followed ordering her to bring them back inside. Garcon began to bite and scratch him, she said, so she took the children (it was unclear in the report who or how many other children were present) into a bedroom to keep them from witnessing the altercation.
She stated she overheard a “thump” and witnessed Miller reach into a pocket and brandish a handgun, firingmultiple rounds, according to the report. She did not see Garcon with a weapon nor make any threats.
In Miller’s interview with detectives, he explained he left Garcon in Orlando following a verbal altercation. Then on Christmas when he heard loud banging on his door, he said he armed himself with a handgun. He opened the door and said she became irate with him and took their son and the cellphone in an attempt to leave. He initially stated she struck him multiple times in the face, though there were no signs of injuries. He did show them a bite mark on his right shoulder and a scratch on his upper chest.
Miller stated Garcon was standing over him when he fired his gun, but the arrest report said his “testimony constantly altered during the course of the interview in an attempt to justify a self-defense claim.”
(This story has been updated to fix a couple of typos.)
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Guilty verdict for Orange Park man who shot ex-girlfriend on Christmas
Reporting by Scott Butler, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
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