EUSTIS, Florida—A Eustis man is being held in the Lake County Jail on no bond after firing a shot at another Eustis man Saturday and punching him in the face after the man threw him out of his house following an argument, according to an arrest affidavit.
Albert Watkins III, 61, was at an unidentified man’s home in Eustis when the man began talking about someone close to the victim. Due to Marsy’s Law, the victim’s name and the name of the person who Watkins was talking about are redacted from the affidavit. The victim, upset about what Watkins was saying, told him to leave and Watkins became argumentative and reportedly said, “I’m going to (expletive) you up!”
The victim told police he grabbed a pole and again told Watkins to leave his home and Watkins walked out, followed by the victim, who dropped the pole. Watkins then said, “Alright then, we can fight like men,” and pulled out a Remington 1911 .45 caliber handgun and fired one round in the direction of the victim. He missed, punched the victim in the face and fled the scene.
Eustis Police Department responded and found Watkins nearby on Danvers Street and took him into custody. He denied shooting at the victim and said the victim threatened him with the pole and he left the scene and walked to a friend’s house. While officers were looking for the gun used in the shooting, a citizen approached them and said they saw someone hiding an object in the brush and leaves under a tree and EPD found the loaded gun; the imprints on the rounds matched a shell casing found where the shooting occurred. Police ran the serial number on the firearm and found it was stolen out of Eustis in 2022.
Watkins was arrested for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, battery, discharging a firearm in public, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and grand theft of a firearm. EPD requested Watkins be held on no bond and the request was granted.
