Palm Bay chimp charged with shooting at undercover popo
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From: Lynn on 10 Jun 2010 08:08 http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20100610/NEWS01/6100327/1006/news01/Palm+Bay+teen+charged+with+shooting+at+undercover+cops PALM BAY — -- A 17-year-old held for attempted murder of a Palm Bay police officer may not have been aware he was shooting at police because they were in an unmarked vehicle, officials said Wednesday. The charge stems from a Tuesday night incident in which police were investigating a green Honda that was being driven erratically near the Landings Apartments on Palm Bay Road. As officers in an unmarked patrol car followed the Honda into the nearby Windwood Apartments, a passenger in the car opened fire on the officers, police said. "We don't know if he realized that these were officers," said Yvonne Martinez, spokeswoman for the Palm Bay Police Department. "Regardless, the fact that he was shooting at a vehicle is a concern." Christopher Wilkins of Palm Bay was being held Wednesday on a charge of attempted murder on a law enforcement officer. The officer was not injured. It marked the second incident this week in Central Florida in which a teen was charged with attempted murder of a law enforcement officer. An officer in Seminole County was shot in the arm by a 16-year-old while investigating a trespassing complaint at an apartment complex. The State Attorney's Office will evaluate the Palm Bay case to determine whether to charge Wilkins as an adult. Wilkins has an arrest record for two incidents in Palm Bay. He was sentenced to six months detention involving an May 2009 incident in which a 12-year-old boy was held at knifepoint during a home invasion. He was released in January, but was arrested on a felony grand theft charge. He is awaiting sentencing in that case, prosecutors said. Martinez said officers in the unmarked car immediately put on their lights, but the driver of the Honda and at least three other occupants got out of the rolling vehicle and fled. Police found the driver, who initially reported that he was a carjacking victim. Detectives later determined the driver's claim was untrue. Another person believed to have been in the car with Wilkins, 22-year-old Anthony Murphy, was also taken into custody on Orange County warrants for attempted murder, aggravated assault and robbery, police said. No other charges were filed, but the investigation is continuing. |