- April 17, 2024
-
-
Loading
Loading
Timothy Charles Draper pled no contest Thursday to charges related to firing shots in public near Herschel King Park last October.
Originally, Draper was charged with discharging a firearm from a vehicle within 1,000 feet of a person, a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison, and possession or use of a firearm while under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance, a second-degree misdemeanor.
In an agreement between the state and Draper’s defense attorney, Draper pled instead to discharge of a firearm in public, a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison. The state nullified Draper’s second count.
Circuit Judge J. David Walsh sentenced Draper to two years of probation with the special conditions that he complete 50 hours of community service, pay a $500 fine to the Wildlife Alert Fund and does not possess any firearms during his probation.
The charges were brought against Draper after a party reported to law enforcement observing a vehicle drive into Herschel King Park and hearing two rounds being fired from what sounded like a .22 caliber rifle.
As a Flagler County Sheriff’s deputy was on his way to the scene, the party reported that a truck was exiting the park and had fired another round, according to a charging affidavit.
A deputy conducted a traffic stop on the suspect vehicle, and observed that the passenger, later identified as Draper, had a black rifle between his legs with the barrel pointing toward the ground. In addition to the male driver, two female passengers were in the vehicle, as well as a child in a car seat.
A witness and passengers in the vehicle said Draper had fired shots while they were driving in the park on the circular dirt road near the restrooms. There was a live round found in the chamber of the recovered firearm, along with two live rounds in the magazine.
Draper said he had been drinking beer during the evening, but said he never fired the gun. The shots were allegedly fired on Grady Prather Drive, which runs parallel to streets in Grand Haven, within 1,000 feet of residences.
