Two Williston youths, ages 16 and 17, charged with attempted murder
Left to right: Robert Burgman, Javaughn Penny and the confiscated guns.
Two shooting incidents result of ongoing teen feud
Levy County, Florida - About 8:30 p.m., Thursday, March 21, 2022, a witness reported seeing a vehicle chasing a truck on U.S. Hwy. Alt. 27, near the Olive Drive BP station between Bronson and Williston, and also told a Levy County dispatcher that he thought that one of the occupants inside the vehicle had fired several rounds at the truck being chased.
Deputies arrived at the area described by the witness, but they were unable to locate any evidence of a shooting, and no one had reported they had been shot or fired at. However, shortly after midnight, early Friday morning, March 22, a 911 call was made to Levy County dispatch from a residence near County Road 335 A, east of Bronson, by a homeowner reporting that her home had been shot during a drive by shooting.
Deputies arrived at the residence and found multiple shell casings near the driveway of the home, which at the time of the shooting, was occupied by a mother, her 17 year old daughter and her daughter's boyfriend, her 13 year-old son, and an infant. No one was injured during the drive by shooting.
Deputies also learned, that earlier in the evening of March 21, the homeowner's 17 year old daughter and her 13 year old son had attended a party at a home between Bronson and Williston, and they were followed home from the party by people, with whom the 17 year-old girl and her boyfriend had been feuding. At the time the shots were fired on the roadway, the girl was driving her mother’s truck, and she was attempting to escape from the vehicle following her, when the occupants inside the vehicle following her fired shots at the truck. The girl did not report this incident to her mother or to law enforcement at the time it occurred, and although the truck was struck several times by bullets, no one inside the truck was injured.
Detectives were able to identify the suspects and the car they were driving, and the vehicle was located, parked behind a home east of County Road 331 A, near Williston. Law enforcement officers from the Levy County Sheriff's Office and the Williston Police Department surrounded the home, and observed five juveniles inside the home. Officers used a police vehicle P.A. (public address) system to order the occupants to exit the home, and for approximately an hour, all occupants refused to exit the home, but eventually, three of the juveniles exited the home, and they were detained by law enforcement. For another hour and fifteen minuties, officers commanded the two remaining occupants of the home to surrender, and shortly after the LCSO Tactical Response Unit (TRU) arrived on scene, they finally surrendered themselves to officers and were also taken into custody.
Detectives determined that two of the five juveniles detained from the home were responsible for both shooting incidents - on the roadway of U.S. Hwy. Alt. 27, near the Olive Drive BP station between Bronson and Williston, and at the woman's residence near County Road 335 A, east of Bronson. The suspects were identified as Robert Burgman,16, and Javaughn Penny, 17, both of Williston. Burgman and Penny were both arrested, booked into the Levy County Detention Bureau on charges of attempted murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and discharging a weapon from a vehicle. They will be held in the Alachua County Department of Juvenile Justice Detention Center in Gainesville, Florida.
Detectives searched the home where the juveniles had been hiding and found two guns. Both weapons were identified as the same caliber weapon used in the drive by shooting at the home, earlier that morning. Additional testing of these guns is pending to determine if they are the guns used in these crimes.
The Levy County Sheriff’s Office believes there may be additional witnesses to assist with this investigation. Anyone who witnessed or has information about the incident on U.S. Alternate 27 near the Olive Drive BP station or the drive by shooting is asked to contact Detective Joe Barrera at 352-486-5111, extension 265. This case is still under investigation, and additional charges could be filed. If you wish to remain anonymous, please report your tip to Crime Stoppers at 1-877-349-8477.