Prosecutors have opted not to file attempted murder and child abuse charges against a Jacksonville man who engaged in a shootout with his girlfriend's estranged husband during a planned child custody exchange on Sept 18, in Oakleaf Plantation.
Darrius Kirkland, 32, is still charged with possession of a firearm by a felon. It's unclear why the initial charges announced by the Clay County Sheriff's Office have been dropped, but it could involve new evidence or may be deemed possible self-defense.
A Sheriff's Office spokesman said it remains an ongoing investigation with no new updates to release. The Times-Union has also reached out to Kirkland's attorney but not heard back.
The standard for charges officially filed by the State Attorney's Office
are above the probable cause needed for an arrest, a spokesman there said. The office files charges for crimes it can prove beyond a reasonable doubt to a jury.
The incident began shortly before 5 p.m. with the Sheriff’s Office receiving several 911 calls about gunfire on Bayridge Court in Oakleaf Plantation. Minutes later, additional calls came in about a car crashing into a tree off Piedmont Manor Drive and a man running through a backyard, the Sheriff's Office previously said.
No one was shot, but stray bullets did hit a couple of homes.
Kirkland had accompanied his girlfriend to a regularly scheduled child exchange with her estranged husband. He brought an AR-style rifle and a semiautomatic pistol despite not being able to legally own firearms as a felon, the Sheriff's Office said.
Shortly after the husband arrived, his young daughter got out of the vehicle his wife and Kirkland were in and began walking to him. Kirkland, with his rifle, and the husband also got out of their vehicles. The husband, whose name hasn't been released, also had a pistol and the two began firing at each other, the Sheriff's Office said. The husband’s vehicle was struck numerous times while another young child was inside.
The mother took cover on the ground but was able to get both children to safety when the shooting stopped. Kirkland fled in her vehicle before crashing and hiding in a yard. The vehicle and tree caught fire after the crash and an unoccupied vehicle parked nearby also caught fire.
Everyone was detained.
Kirkland is scheduled for a pretrial hearing Nov. 3.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Attempted murder charge dropped in Clay shootout during child exchange
