A Leesburg man was arrested for assault after allegedly shooting at a woman and claiming it was because someone shot at him first.
Officers responded to an undisclosed location on April 11 regarding complaints of hearing about 20 gunshots and someone screaming, according to an arrest report from the Leesburg Police Department. LPD Dispatch received information that the suspect, later identified as 23-year-old Tiki Terrel Miller, was a man wearing a red jacket walking southbound down East Street.
Upon arrival, one of the officers met with the victim, a homeowner who was yelling that her house had been shot up again. She stated that she was sitting on her porch about to eat when she saw a young man wearing a red hoodie in the field across from her residence. The person she observed was later known to be Miller, the report said.
Immediately after seeing Miller, the victim heard shooting and saw him point a gun in her direction. She dropped down, and as she was running inside, she told the other subjects within the residence to call the police. She explained that she was in fear for her life when Miller started shooting at her house, the report said.
The officer found several shell casings in the front yard of the victim’s residence and a bullet hole in a vehicle parked in the driveway directly next door. The victim could not explain the shell casings in her front yard, only that she saw Miller shooting at her residence from the field across the street, the report said.
The victim also informed officers that she believed the incident stemmed from a situation that happened on Wednesday, April 10, with Miller’s girlfriend. They tried to have her trespassed from her residence, but she left prior to law enforcement arriving, the report said.
While one officer continued his investigation at the victim’s residence, others arrived at 1007 Ferguson Avenue in Leesburg where they were told Miller lived. During this time, a woman with a small child left the residence, and officers heard the name “Tiki.” Officers spoke to the woman who explained she was Miller’s girlfriend and that he was not there but at his work in Groveland, the report said.
Officers approached the residence when one of them noticed movement from the front windows. Commands were given through a PA system, and Miller stepped outside to be detained without incident. He was then placed in the back of a patrol vehicle. The victim was taken to the scene for a show up where she advised that she was 90% sure that Miller was the same subject she observed in the field with the gun, the report said.
In his statement, Miller advised that as he was walking to the store located at 102 S. East Street, an unidentified subject, or subjects, started shooting at him from the front yard of the victim’s residence. He shot back about three times but only in self-defense, not to target the residence or anyone in particular. He then immediately ran back to his residence. He could not positively identify who shot at him, the report said.
Miller later told one of the officers that he threw his gun in a field somewhere near a cemetery around Ferguson and Barrett Avenues as he ran from the scene. A search for the gun was met with negative results. A K-9 with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office also searched for the gun with no results, the report said.
However, while searching the field across from the victim’s residence for evidence, an officer found a cell phone on the ground about 75 yards from the residence. The cell phone, which was powered on, was found on the field’s southwest corner near the East Street sidewalk. The report noted that the cell phone had a wallpaper image of Miller which was later confirmed by him to be his. During this time, two shell casings were found near the cell phone.
The homeowner of 1007 Ferguson later responded to the scene and granted officers permission to search the residence. As they did so in the backyard where the shed was located, an officer found a piece of plywood that was covering a hole under the shed. This was moved, and a red hoodie was discovered. A black pair of shorts and a pair of green shoes were discovered inside the residence. These were the same clothes Miller told law enforcement he was wearing at the time of the shooting, the report said.
Miller was subsequently arrested on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence. He was transported to Lake County Jail and released after posting $10,000 bond.
