A Lehigh Acres man told deputies he was shooting at “ghosts ” when he fired his gun inside his home.
He also fled, shooting at the law enforcement officers trying to stop him.
Joe Christopher Simmons, Jr., 32, was arrested on Thursday, July 16, just after midnight.
The Lee County Sheriff’s Office responded to a disturbance involving an armed subject at a Lehigh Acres home on Willowbrook Drive.
Witnesses said Simmons Jr. was “behaving erratically” and said he was shooting at “ghosts” in the home, deputies said.
Family members attempted to calm Simmons, but he “became enraged and allegedly struck a family member in the jaw and headbutted another before fleeing the scene.”
Simmons did not stop for deputies, resulting in a police pursuit.
Simmons shot multiple times at deputies at two locations: near the 100 block of Greenbriar Boulevard and the 1800 block of Richmond Avenue North, his arrest affidavit says.
Deputies returned fire at both sites, the sheriff’s office said.
Eventually, the suspect crashed his vehicle into a ditch, where it flipped onto the hood. He barricaded himself in the vehicle for nearly two and a half hours before deputies could arrest him.
There were no injuries to the suspect, victims or law enforcement officers, the sheriff’s office said.
The deputies involved in the shooting have been placed on paid administrative leave.
Detectives have learned that Simmons in accused in multiple other shootings Wednesday night that were under investigation.
Simmons has been charged with firing a weapon into a car or building, possession of a weapon by a convicted felon and two counts of battery.
He remains in custody. His bond has not been set.
Tayeba Hussein is a breaking news reporter for The News-Press & Naples Daily News. Reach her at thussein@usatodayco.com.
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This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Lehigh Acres man accused of shooting at deputies and ‘ghosts’
Reporting by Tayeba Hussein, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Fort Myers News-Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Tayeba Hussein, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News | USA TODAY Network
