VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – A man who fatally shot one person and injured two others in Edgewater in 2023 was sentenced to 50 years in prison, according to the state attorney’s office.
The State Attorney’s Office of the 7th Judicial District on Friday said Walter Russell was sentenced this week after pleading no contest in March to second-degree murder, two counts of attempted first-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
The shooting happened on Oct. 5, 2023, at a homeless camp on Juniper Drive.
According to the state attorney’s office, Russell’s wife, Laura Carter, reported her gun missing to the New Smyrna Beach Police Department.
Police later learned she had joined her husband to visit the homeless camp and was present during the shooting.
Russell told detectives that one of the victims he shot had previously tried to rob him and sold him bad marijuana, which is why he went to the camp with the gun.
“After shooting at the three victims, Russell said his wife helped him get rid of the gun,” the state attorney’s office said.
According to an arrest affidavit, Carter told police she heard gunshots, and Russell eventually appeared “in a quick fashion,” causing her to “have to sprint after him” back toward their vehicle.
Carter pleaded no contest last year and was sentenced to four years in prison followed by two years of community control and five years of probation for accessory after the fact.