Local
Oakleaf custody-exchange shooting suspect now faces only felon-in-possession charge
Prosecutors filed a firearm-possession charge against Darrius Elighah Winard Kirkland after initially arresting him on attempted-murder and child-abuse allegations. The Sept. 18 exchange ended in gunfire, but no one was struck; bullets hit a vehicle and nearby homes.
A man arrested after a shooting during a child custody exchange in Oakleaf now faces one filed charge: possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, according to a Clay County charging notice filed Oct. 8.
Darrius Elighah Winard Kirkland, 32, was initially arrested on allegations of attempted second-degree murder with a weapon, child abuse and illegal firearm possession. The notice lists only the firearm charge as filed and says the other charges were dropped or changed. It does not state why prosecutors did not pursue them.
The Clay County Sheriff’s Office said Kirkland accompanied his girlfriend to a scheduled exchange with her estranged husband on Sept. 18 and opened fire with an AR-style rifle. The father returned fire, while the mother got the two children to safety. No one was hit, but bullets struck the father’s vehicle and nearby homes.
Authorities said Kirkland left in his girlfriend’s vehicle, crashed into a tree and was found by a sheriff’s office K-9 team. He was treated for injuries before being arrested. The charging notice applies to this arrest and does not affect any other pending charges.
The sheriff’s office said the shooting remains under investigation and no one else has been arrested.