Two males were slain in a shooting near Altoona on Thursday night, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. Lt. John Herrell of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office said, “The male is our suspect and I believe the female is dead. Herrell is alluding to the two individuals discovered in Ormond Beach the next day. A judge remarked in court, “Mr. Gilbert, we’re charging you with possession of a firearm or ammunition by a convicted state felon.”
Roger Gilbert, 35, who was detained on Friday near Ormond Beach, appeared in court in Volusia County on Saturday. Roger Gilbert and the lady he was traveling with were wanted as potential witnesses by Lake County investigators probing into the shooting deaths of Shane Clements, 41, and David Mikell, 34, on Thursday evening.
Roger Gilbert is the subject of our inquiry, and detectives are working to determine why he was in Altoona on Thursday night and what he was doing in Florida, according to Herrell. Police in Ormond Beach were called to a report of a car with a bullet hole early on Friday.
The automobile was found a few hours later. It went off, then it fell. Gilbert, the man in the car’s passenger seat, fled after being tased and taken into custody. The driver had passed away, but not because of the collision. She has since been identified as Samantha Butler, 29. Butler’s shooting was evident during Gilbert’s court appearance.
Officials stated in court that “detectives still don’t know” if the co-defendant who was found shot was on her own hands or his hands. It added to the enigma surrounding what transpired on Thursday evening in Altoona and on Friday in Ormond Beach.
Gilbert and Butler both have connections to Alabama, so authorities are at a loss as to why they may have been at the home where the men were reportedly shot. Herrell stated, “Detectives have really confirmed that these are the two they were attempting to identify and locate. The gunshots on Thursday have not yet given rise to any charges in Lake County. Gilbert is refusing to cooperate.
