MELBOURNE, Fla. – A 20-year-old Palm Bay man has been accused of first-degree premeditated murder with a firearm in the November shooting death of James Thomas Wynn in West Melbourne's Oak Grove neighborhood, Local 6 news partner Florida Today reports.
Michael Christopher Maxwell was charged Tuesday with Wynn's homicide.
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Wynn, 22, was found dead in a backyard in the 1000 block of Hollister Drive. At 3:14 a.m., an anonymous 911 caller reported hearing multiple gunshots. Other witnesses told police they heard a man saying, "No," before the gunfire erupted.
Maxwell has been jailed since Nov. 27 — three days after the shooting — for violating conditions from his bond release conditions from a botched May 2013 home invasion in Palm Bay, court records show.
In that case, Palm Bay police said Maxwell and at least three other companions stormed a home about 1 a.m. in the 700 block of Monterey Drive. But the victims in the residence fought back — and Maxwell was beaten, kicked and shot with a stun gun.
He was taken to Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne for medical treatment, then later charged with one count of home invasion robbery with a firearm or deadly weapon and four counts of battery.
West Melbourne Police Lt. Richard Cordeau told Florida Today detectives will not release further details of Wynn's homicide, citing the ongoing investigation. There does not appear to be a connection between the Palm Bay home invasion and Wynn's murder, Cordeau added.