Newberry man arrested for firing shotgun inside house
Staff report
NEWBERRY, Fla. – John Joseph Demko Jr., 36, was arrested last night for allegedly shooting a hole in his back door with a shotgun while intoxicated.
The responding Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy reported that Demko and his wife had been arguing all day, and when Demko arrived home, he started drinking while preparing dinner. The couple eventually went to separate ends of the house, and Demko allegedly picked up his 12-gauge shotgun and fired it at the back door, leaving a golf-ball-sized hole in the door.
Demko reportedly fled from the home but came back about 10 minutes after the deputy arrived and surrendered. He reportedly said, “I shot the gun, and I’m wrong.”
Post Miranda, Demko reportedly said he had previously loaded the shotgun to shoot at squirrels, and he admitted to discharging the shotgun inside the home.
Demko has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, child neglect, and using a firearm under the influence of alcohol. He has no local criminal history, and Judge Jonathan Ramsey set bail at $25,000.
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.
Newberry man will never hear again!
He was obviously deaf to the voice of common sense already.
If he shot through the door and the wife was nowhere around where did the aggravated assault charge come from? He didn’t agg assault the deputy with the shotgun because he would be full of holes right now. The article didn’t mention him point the gun at his wife either :/
Did he refuse the breathalyzer? Maybe they did that at the jail …
It does look like he was charged with aggravated assault against a door. I wondered the same thing as you.
If he shot through the door and the wife was nowhere around where did the aggravated assault charge come from? He didn’t agg assault the deputy with the shotgun because he would be full of holes right now. The article didn’t mention him point the gun at his wife either :/
If no one was home, and he accidentally shot the door that he owned, that’s not a crime.