DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The state attorney's office overseeing Volusia County formally filed charges Tuesday against the man accused of opening fire on a Daytona Beach neighborhood last month and shooting at three police officers.
Raymond Roberts Jr., 40, armed with an AK-47, opened fire near Martin Luther King Boulevard and South Street on Nov. 25 because he planned to confront people who he said "triple-crossed him," according to Daytona Beach police.
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Instead, Roberts was confront by officers Kevin Hird and Maycon MacDowell and Lt. Jeremy Nikolow. Daytona Beach Police Chief Craig Capri said immediately when the officers got out of the car, Roberts opened fire on them.
Hird was hit in the shoulder. He continues to recover after two surgeries.
State Attorney R.J. Larizza filed half a dozen charges Tuesday against Roberts related to the incident, including attempted first-degree murder of a police officer and aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer.
After the shooting, Capri called Roberts "a street maggot" and said the "criminal justice system will take care of getting him the sentence he deserves."
“The defendant walked through a residential neighborhood, carrying a gun, and shot at three Daytona Beach Police Department officers in an attempt to kill them," Larizza said. "The charges we filed reflect the deadly violent nature of the defendant’s conduct, and demonstrate our resolve to protect our law enforcement officers and the neighborhoods they patrol.”
Roberts faces multiple life sentences if convicted.