Suspect in assault arrested
A man who the Okaloosa County Sheriff ’s Office believes was shot during an attack on a 64-year-old Niceville man was released Friday from a Pensacola hospital.
Lawmen were waiting for him.
Jamal Wesley James, 19, has been charged with burglary with assault and aggravated battery causing great bodily harm, according to the Okaloosa County Sheriff ’s Office. He will be transferred from Escambia County to Okaloosa County for trial.
James was the first of three men wearing hooded jackets and ski masks who burst into Harold Brown’s home on 23rd Street in Niceville late Tuesday.
The men hit and kicked Crown, but he was able to grab a handgun from the shelf of a bookcase and fire two shots, a Sheriff ’s Office news release stated.
Crown told investigators after the incident that the first shot missed, but he was confident the second shot hit one the assailants.
“He told us he thought he got one of them in the shoulder,” said a neighbor who let Crown use her phone after the botched robbery.
The three men who had entered Crown’s home fled after the second shot was fired.
The neighbor, who asked not to be identified, said Crown was bleeding from the face and hand when he arrived at her door.
James showed up at Twin Cities Hospital in Niceville shortly after the incident. He had a gunshot wound to the upper chest, according to the news release.
James’ last known address was on Eglin Air Force Base. Sheriff ’s Office spokeswoman Michele Nicholson said he was the dependent of an airman stationed there.
Crown was admitted to Twin Cities Hospital at some point after the fight. He is listed in stable condition.
He has declined to speak to reporters.
Investigators have not identified the other two men involved in the shooting. Anyone with information is asked to call the Sheriff ’s Office at 651-7400 or Emerald Coast Crime Stoppers at 863-TIPS.