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Man jailed after warning shots damage neighbor’s home

Collin Philip Swinnes
Collin Philip Swinnes

A 19-year-old Leesburg man who fired his father’s 12-gauge shotgun into the ground as a warning to people shooting off fireworks was arrested after projectiles from the rifle struck and damaged a neighbor’s house.

A Leesburg police officer responded Saturday night to an address on Sterns Drive after receiving a report of people shooting fireworks and possibly firearms in the neighborhood. Prior to arriving at the scene, the officer was informed the victim’s rear glass door had been shattered, according to the police report.

When he arrived, the officer saw a small group of people shooting fireworks at a different address on Sterns Drive. Members of that group told the officer they heard what sounded like shotgun blasts coming from behind the victim’s residence, the report said.

Officers then met with the victim, who showed the damage to her rear glass door. The officers inspected the damage and saw clear signs of a projectile having struck the door frame. They also saw that a second projectile struck a television inside the victim’s residence, according to the report.

The officers determined the projectiles came from behind the residence and searched the area. The projectiles also appeared to have been fired at a slight upward angle, the report said.

Officers then spoke with Collin Philip Swinnes, who lives at 1521 Moss Ave., which is behind the victim’s residence. Swinnes said he heard people shooting fireworks and he wanted them to stop, so he used his father’s Stevens 12-gauge shotgun to shoot two rounds into the ground. He said the shotgun was in his bedroom closet, according to the report.

Swinnes’s father took the officers into the residence to retrieve the shotgun. They also collected two spent shotgun casings and three shotgun slug rounds. Due to the location where Swinnes lives and where he fired the shots, Lake County sheriff’s deputies arrived to assist with the investigation, the report said.

Swinnes was charged with shooting a deadly missile into an occupied dwelling. He was taken to the Lake County Jail, where he was released Sunday afternoon on $10,000 bond. Swinnes is due in Lake County Court on Aug. 15.

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