Two men arrested after early morning, Oct. 7, Inverness, FL shooting incident
Graphic with mugshots from CCSO Facebook page.
Inverness, Florida - During the early morning hours of Saturday, October 7, 2023, Citrus County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) deputies were dispatched to a residential neighborhood near East Hampton Lane in Inverness, in response to a call for service. The caller reported that several occupants of a silver Toyota Tundra pickup truck had discharged their firearms during a dispute.
Deputies located a vehicle that matched the caller's description, traveling west on East Holly Street, heading toward South Apopka Avenue.
Deputies conducted a felony traffic stop on the vehicle. The driver, 21 year-old Christopher George Thatcher of Inverness, was the sole occupant of the vehicle. Deputies located a loaded firearm inside the vehicle. Thatcher was placed under arrest and transported to the Citrus County Detention Facility.
As the investigation continued, deputies determined that the victims had become agitated by Thatcher’s alleged speeding near the victims' residence, and the two parties had gotten into a verbal altercation.
Thatcher and his passenger, 21 year-old Avery Jones of Fort Stewart, Georgia, had reportedly left the area and obtained two firearms and later returned to the residence, where numerous people still remained outside. The two had allegedly discharged their firearms, several times, before Thatcher drove away. Jones, who was sitting in the bed of the truck during the shooting incident, had fallen out of the vehicle and run away on foot.
Detectives with CCSO Major Crimes Unit located Jones, some time later, and recovered a second firearm. Jones was also placed under arrest.
Jones was charged with four counts of aggravated assault, knowingly and willfully discharging a firearm from a vehicle within 1,000 feet of a person, with his bond set at $9,000.
Thatcher was charged with four counts of aggravated assault, shooting or throwing deadly missiles into a dwelling, vessel, or vehicle; and discharging a firearm in public, with his bond set at $19,000.
“Thankfully, the victims were not injured during this incident,” said Citrus County Sheriff Mike Prendergast. “It, is truly infuriating when individuals don’t follow laws and endanger our residents. I strongly encourage our citizens to call and report suspicious or illegal actions, such as this, to our agency, as these situations can escalate quickly.”