Following an extensive review, our office has concluded that we cannot refute the assertion by the victim that he acted in lawful self-defense in the use of deadly force against Kyle Shelton on October 4, 2021. Our review determined that the evidence is consistent with the victim’s assertion that he repeatedly requested and then demanded that Kyle Shelton leave his home, yet Shelton refused to leave and threatened to hurt the victim. The victim asserts that he then armed himself with a gun and again demanded that Shelton leave. The victim asserts that Shelton then shoved the victim to the ground, and—as the victim fell to the ground—the firearm in his hand accidentally discharged and Shelton was shot in the chest. Shelton died from this wound. In reaching this conclusion, our office conducted an exhaustive review of all available evidence and applicable legal standards. These steps included but were not limited to:
- reviewing police reports
- reviewing interviews of witnesses
- examining physical evidence
- reviewing photographic evidence
- reviewing 911 calls, radio communications, and relevant audio
- analyzing autopsy results
- applying the applicable laws
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation and determined that on October 4, 2021, around 04:49 a.m., law enforcement responded to a home in West Tampa in reference to a shooting incident. Upon arrival, law enforcement located Kyle Shelton inside the home with an apparent gunshot wound. Shelton was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. The medical examiner later determined that Shelton died as a result of a single gunshot wound to his chest.
Investigation revealed that in addition to the victim and Shelton, there were two other people in the home at the time of the shooting, referred to here as Witness 1 and Witness 2.
Witness 1 was interviewed by detectives and told them that she was a friend of the victim and had been staying with the victim for several days. On the night of this incident, Witness 1 stated that Shelton came to the house around 10:00 p.m. to socialize with the victim. Shelton and the victim later went to the store to buy alcohol and returned with a young woman (Witness 2). Shortly after arriving at the home, Witness 2 began to ask Shelton to give her a ride home and Shelton refused. The victim then confronted Shelton about taking Witness 2 home. Shortly afterward, Witness 1 heard an argument and what sounded like something physical, then a gunshot. Witness 1 did not witness the actual shooting.
Witness 2 was interviewed by detectives and she explained that she had met Shelton and the victim at a local convenience store and asked them to give her a ride to her home. Shelton indicated that he would drive her to where she lived and she went with the men to the victim’s home with the anticipation that Shelton would then take her to her home. Once they got to the victim’s house Shelton refused to take her home; she then asked the victim and Witness 1 to take her home. Witness 2 then complained to the victim that Shelton had promised to take her home, which prompted the victim to confront Shelton about taking Witness 2 to her house. Later, Witness 2 was with Witness 1 in one of the bedrooms when they heard arguing, a physical fight, and then a gunshot. Witness 2 did not witness the fight or the gunshot. Once the shooting happened, Witness 2 ran out of the house.
The victim was interviewed by detectives following the incident. The victim advised that he and Shelton went to a local convenience store to buy alcohol and came into contact with Witness 2, who was asking for a ride home. Shelton agreed to take her home and brought her back to the victim’s house. Once they arrived, Witness 2 would not stop bothering everyone for a ride home and was complaining that Shelton had promised her a ride home. The victim then confronted Shelton, who was lying in bed in the spare bedroom, about taking Witness 2 home. He and Shelton argued for approximately five minutes and then the victim told Shelton that Shelton needed to leave the house. Shelton then refused to leave and told the victim, “I’m going to f— you up,” and, “Step one foot into this room and see what happens.”
The victim explained that he then got a gun from within the house both to protect himself and with the hope that the gun would persuade Shelton to leave. As the victim walked through his house into the kitchen, he ran into Shelton and told Shelton, “Now you’re going to leave.” The victim advised that Shelton then shoved him in the chest with both hands, causing him to fall backwards and trip over a case of bottled water that was on the floor behind him. As the victim was falling backwards, the gun went off accidentally. The victim advised that he had no intention of shooting Shelton. He immediately called 911 to report the shooting. The victim further said that he and Shelton had engaged in an argument three months before, during which Shelton had thrown him to the ground.
A short time after the victim’s interview, he agreed to participate in a video walkthrough of the shooting. In the video, the victim demonstrated his interaction with Shelton in the kitchen of the home and re-enacted the physical altercation, which included showing where and how he fell backwards and his position when the gun discharged.
Crime scene technicians located damage to the ceiling of the kitchen that was in an area above and behind where the victim indicated Shelton had been standing when the gun went off. The area of this damage is consistent with the victim’s account of the gun being near the floor when it discharged.
The weapon in this case, a .357 caliber revolver, belonged to the victim and was kept by him in his bedroom. Ammunition for the firearm was located in the area where the victim indicated he kept the weapon. The revolver was examined by a firearms examiner and test fired and was found to function as designed.
An autopsy examination was conducted by the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner’s Office. The cause of Shelton’s death was determined to be a gunshot wound to the chest. The direction of travel of the bullet as it passed through Shelton’s body was able to be determined and was consistent with the gun being discharged from an area in front of and below Shelton. This medical evidence is consistent with the victim’s account of the incident. Toxicology testing was also conducted by the Medical Examiner’s Office. Shelton’s blood alcohol level was determined to be 0.17 g/dL which is at a level that would be over twice the legal limit allowed for operation of a motor vehicle.
The name of the victim is being withheld due to Marsy’s Law.
After our thorough analysis, we have determined that the facts and evidence cannot refute the statements by the victim that the firearm was discharged accidentally and a claim that the victim lawfully defended himself from the commission of a forcible felony or reasonably believed he was in fear of imminent death or great bodily harm when he used deadly force. These findings satisfy Florida Statute 776.012. Accordingly, under Florida law, there is no legal basis for criminal charges against the victim.
An initial release of materials related to this case is available at this link. These items illustrate the crime scene and key details of the case. Further documents related to the case, including additional photos, reports, and interview transcripts, are available to any member of the public subject to Florida’s Public Records Law; find details on making a request on the State Attorney’s Office Public Records page.