TITUSVILLE, Fla. – A suspect arrested Wednesday in a man’s shooting death at a Titusville home has been identified and is accused of premeditated first-degree murder, according to documents obtained Thursday.
Titusville police officers responded to the home along Palmetto Avenue early Monday after a caller advised they heard gunshots and screaming from downstairs, described in an affidavit for the arrest warrant of 31-year-old Dominic Bland. Police went to the home and found 56-year-old Carl Wigfall, with apparent gunshot wounds to his hand, shoulders and face, lying on the floor behind the couch in a pool of blood. Wigfall was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
An eyewitness to the event was interviewed, the affidavit states. The witness reported seeing Bland shoot Wigfall twice as the victim was seated before pushing him off the chair and standing over his body, shooting him several times more and stating, “See what happens!” or something similar. The eyewitness said they asked Bland why he shot Wigfall, to which the accused allegedly just stared back before fleeing in a Jeep, documents show.
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Police released audio on Thursday from 911 calls, including one of a woman telling the operator, “My man’s dead.”
The eyewitness, upon being shown a picture of Bland to confirm his identity, “began crying and asking why he killed Carl,” the affidavit states.
Sgt. Bryan Nelson said Thursday that Wigfall was dating Bland’s mother and there were previous disputes at the address.
In November, records show Wigfall was arrested on accusations of hitting his girlfriend with a chair and threatening her with a knife.
While the domestic violence charges were later dropped, the affidavit states that may have motivated Bland too.
Bland was arrested in a traffic stop around 2 p.m. Wednesday, from which he unsuccessfully tried to run away, investigators said.
Judge Kelly Ingram called Bland a danger to the community and Nelson called the crime heinous, malicious and violent.
“We are hoping that by arresting Mr. Bland that it would start to bring some closure to the family in these hard times,” Nelson said.
He is being held at the Brevard County jail without bond and faces charges of premeditated first-degree murder, fleeing or eluding law enforcement with lights and/or sirens activated, resting an officer without violence, knowingly driving with a suspended license (first offense) and two counts of violating probation, booking records show.
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