Gainesville man arrested for shooting 17 rounds in Phoenix Apartments parking lot

Staff report

Updated on January 7 with information from the arrest of Patruan Hare.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Mykell Torrence Hicks, 31, was arrested yesterday and charged with firing a gun in a public area after he allegedly fired 17 shots in a Phoenix Apartments parking lot.

At about 4:20 p.m. on January 3, Gainesville Police Department officers responded to multiple calls about shots fired at 3200 SW 26th Way (Phoenix Apartments). When officers arrived, witnesses said they saw multiple people running into a nearby apartment after they heard the gunshots, and five people reportedly came out of that apartment, including Hicks.

Post Miranda, Hicks reportedly said that when he came out of his apartment, he saw an unknown person aiming a gun in his direction, so he quickly hid behind a vehicle and took his pistol from his waistband. He reportedly said he heard multiple shots being fired, but he didn’t know whether they were aimed in his direction; he stood up and saw the unknown person firing multiple shots at a group of people north of the apartment complex, so he fired about 17 rounds toward the north end of the apartment complex.

Hicks reportedly said that after he fired 17 rounds, he ran back inside the apartment and put the gun on the counter. He said he didn’t know whether any of the shots hit anyone, but he thought a round hit the window of a black Cadillac.

The officer noted that Hicks shot multiple rounds “recklessly” in an apartment complex, with multiple residents and citizens in the area.

Officers reportedly found multiple shell casings in the parking lot near the area where Hicks said he fired the shots.

Although Hicks is still facing charges in this incident as of January 7, Patruan Michael Hare Jr. was arrested on January 6 for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and discharging a firearm in public. Hare’s arrest report states that Hicks had “a well-rounded fear… that an act of violence was about to take place” when Hare allegedly aimed an AR-15-style firearm at him.

Officers obtained a search warrant for the apartment, and the search reportedly produced about 491.3 grams of marijuana in Hicks’s bedroom, along with resealable baggies and a scale; the quantity is “indicative of someone who sells narcotics.”

Hicks has been charged with firing a weapon in public and possession of marijuana with intent to sell. He has no local criminal convictions, and Judge Phillip Pena set bail at $175,000.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.