Man arrested for shooting stolen, sawed-off rifle in back yard

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Zaytarious Joequan Chisolm, 20, was arrested yesterday after reports of shots fired in the Phoenix area; he allegedly used a stolen, sawed-off rifle.

A Gainesville Police Department officer responded at 12:55 p.m. yesterday to multiple reports of shots fired near the intersection of SW 23rd Street and SW 32nd Place. Several witnesses reportedly said that Chisolm had been shooting a gun in the area over the past few months. Based on bullet impacts on a nearby building and witness statements, the officer determined that the shots likely came from a specific apartment.

The officer reported that he made contact with Chisolm, who reportedly said he had only been there for 10 minutes. However, witnesses cast doubt on that, causing the officer to believe that Chisolm had been at the location longer. Another witness told the officer that Chisolm had been in the back yard of the apartment, shooting a gun, and the officer subsequently took Chisolm into custody.

Chisolm reportedly did not answer any questions post Miranda, so officers obtained a search warrant for the apartment to try to locate the gun, given that there were young children in the apartment. During the search, officers reportedly found a .22 rifle that had a sawed-off barrel and was loaded with .22LR bullets. The gun had been reported stolen; the officer reported that it had “recently been altered by cutting the barrel length using a crude instrument.” Officers also reported finding multiple bullet casings from various calibers in the back yard. During a search during jail booking, a single .22LR bullet was reportedly found in Chisolm’s pocket.

Chisolm has three felony convictions and was released from state prison in June of 2021 after serving a 2-year sentence for burglary, marijuana possession, and fleeing in Dixie County. He is also facing a charge of battery from an incident in Gainesville last October. He has been charged with firing a weapon into a building, possession of a short-barreled rifle, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and bringing ammunition in a detention facility. He is being held on $275,000 bail.

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.