Florida man fatally shoots roommate with pellet gun because he was annoyed, girlfriend says
TAVARES, Fl. — A Florida man was charged with manslaughter after fatally shooting his roommate with a pellet gun because he was annoyed, according to an arrest affidavit and witnesses.
Jesse F. Hill, 32, was arrested Friday stemming from an incident at his home on May 4.
Hill called deputies to the home; when they arrived, they found Ernie Wilburn lying on the living room floor with a puncture wound to his left rib side. He was covered with a sheet and furniture pillows.
It was then that Hill asked a strange question, according to the arrest affidavit. He asked if a search warrant covered a specific area of the vegetation on the west side of the residence and pointed to the area.
The answer was yes, and a search turned up a Ruger .22-caliber high-velocity air rifle.
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“Additionally, based on the location of a blood-like stain on the floor, it was apparent that the decedent had been relocated and or moved, beyond what would have been needed to perform life-saving efforts or identify the decedent,” the arrest affidavit says.
An autopsy the next day showed that a .22-caliber pellet had penetrated his lung.
“A significant blood clot was observed in the decedent’s chest cavity, indicating that the decedent suffered for a significant time prior to his death,” the affidavit says.
Hill’s girlfriend, Joleen Coulter, told deputies she witnessed Hill shooting Wilburn through a bedroom window. She said he was annoyed because Wilburn was yelling that he didn’t have a key to get inside.
Friends quoted Hill as saying he didn’t think the pellet gun would harm Wilburn.
Hill disappeared the next day, telling friends he was wanted for murder.
The pellet gun is designed to fire a projectile 1,200 feet per second, and is made for killing “varmints,” the report said.
Deputies arrested and charged Hill with manslaughter.