A Florida man has been accused of killing his father after they got into a heated argument about a dog.
Port St. Lucie police said that Sheldon Morrison killed his father, Glen Morrison, shortly before 8 a.m. on Wednesday, February 18, inside their family garage on Southwest Ketona Circle, according to a police report viewed by Luxury Handbag Shopping.
Sheldon’s mother told police that her husband was “agitated and angered” and “banging water containers around” during the argument. She also claimed that “at one point” he “aggressively walked up very close to her.”
However, she said that Glen never touched her and she never felt like she was in danger during the incident.
At this point in the altercation, Sheldon went into the house and retrieved a gun. He then reportedly returned to the garage and shot his father, according to the report.
A brief manhunt was launched for Sheldon and he was arrested hours later in Hollywood, Florida, on the afternoon of February 18, according to the police report. He was then brought back to St. Lucie County and is currently in custody at St. Lucie County Jail, according to online records viewed by Luxury Handbag Shopping. He is now facing murder charges in connection to his father’s death.
It is not currently clear if Sheldon has entered a plea or retained legal representation following his arrest.
After Sheldon was taken into custody, Police Chief Leo Niemcyk was asked what he believed Sheldon’s mindset was following the arrest.
“It’s hard to say. You know, I have to presume that he’s dangerous. You just shot and killed his father and fled the scene,” he said, per CBS 12. “Believed to be armed. So, I can’t state, his state of mind, right? It’s obviously not normal today.”
After Sheldon committed the murder, he reportedly told his mother, “I thought he was going to kill you.”
Former Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg weighed in on the case, telling WPBF that he believes the comment is a “critical piece of evidence” in the case to determine “the gap in time.” Despite sharing his thoughts on Glen’s death, Aronberg is not involved in this particular case.
Additionally, Aronberg said that he expects Sheldon to plead self-defense.
“The defendant may try to convince at least one juror that he was in reasonable fear of his safety and had to engage in violence to protect his mother and himself,” the attorney said.
Aronberg went on to admit that he believes arguing that the killing was self-defense may be a “steep hill to climb,” pointing out that Glen was not armed during the incident and has no history of violence.
“The defendant had to go into another part of the house to go retrieve a weapon, so the threat was over at that point, and he brought it back with a gun,” Aronberg added.
The investigation into Glen’s death remains ongoing.
