A 64-year-old Florida man faces a murder charge after fatally shooting his stepdaughter in their home following a dispute over saying 'excuse me,' according to authorities. James Pelzer allegedly fired multiple rounds at Alanda Cuffee in front of her mother on Sunday morning. He surrendered to deputies and is being held without bond.
Deputies with the Escambia County Sheriff's Office responded to a residence in the 2500 block of Gulf Breeze Avenue around 10:30 a.m. on Sunday after James Pelzer called 911. Pelzer, 64, was outside the home upon their arrival and surrendered without incident. He told deputies, 'I messed up. I messed up bad,' and directed them to a handgun sitting on top of a Bible near the front door, court records show. Inside, they found Alanda Cuffee, Pelzer's stepdaughter, unconscious and unresponsive in a pool of blood from multiple gunshot wounds. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities recovered a small black Ruger .380 handgun, its empty magazine, and a round of ammunition from the home. According to the probable cause affidavit, Cuffee's mother said the incident began in the kitchen when Pelzer tried to walk around her daughter. The mother told Cuffee to move aside, but Cuffee replied, 'Well, Mama, he could say excuse me.' Pelzer went to his bedroom, returned with the handgun, and fired four to five rounds at Cuffee without saying anything beforehand. The mother began praying over her daughter, and Pelzer told her to 'be quiet.' Sheriff Chip Simmons described the shooting to the Pensacola News Journal as stemming from 'movement inside the house, whether one could walk around without bumping into the other.' The victim's mother told investigators Pelzer had a history of anger issues and past threats to use his gun, though he had not been physically violent before. Pelzer is charged with dangerous and depraved murder without premeditation and is held without bond in Escambia County Jail. He is scheduled to appear in court on May 8.