David Richard Morris, 48, faces second-degree murder charges after allegedly shooting his downstairs neighbor Jeffrey Blevins, 56, outside their apartment complex in Bartow, Florida. The killing happened Thursday night as Blevins smoked a cigarette and spoke with his mother on the phone. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd detailed the case at a Monday press conference.
Jeffrey Blevins stood outside his first-floor unit at Fountain Place Apartments, smoking and chatting with his mother, when gunfire ended his life. His mother heard a thud like a fall and got no response, prompting her to alert Blevins' sister. Bartow Police arrived around 11:20 p.m. to find Blevins dead near the fitness center, shot in the forehead, Polk County Sheriff's Office investigators said Thursday night had unfolded peacefully until then. Blevins lived with his sister and was known among neighbors as non-confrontational and well-liked. The trail quickly led upstairs to David Richard Morris, described by Sheriff Judd as a conspiracy theorist and flat Earther who had lived with his mother his whole life. Morris admitted owning a 9mm handgun, matching a casing at the scene, Judd recounted. Neighbors called Morris irritating and strange; one said he bragged about his gun while high on meth, and another confirmed supplying him the drug. A search warrant yielded the matching gun with blood traces, plus bloody shoes and a towel in Morris' home. Morris interfered with detectives during the search, yelling and refusing to stay seated, leading to additional charges of resisting arrest and possessing stolen street signs. He had clashed aggressively with other tenants, including Blevins the night before the shooting. Morris appeared in court Sunday and was held without bond.