A Port Charlotte neighborhood spent Sunday evening under a shelter-in-place order after 45-year-old Dwight Washington White allegedly fired an assault rifle from his backyard, sending neighbors running. Witnesses reported White yelling before the shots rang out, and arriving deputies heard gunfire as they approached. Bullets struck a gutter, a car, and a parked vehicle. No one was injured.
Deputies found a PA-15 rifle with a loaded magazine inside White’s home along with shell casings outside. Records show White was convicted of first-degree attempted murder in Miami-Dade County in 2005. As a convicted felon, he was required to register with the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office when he moved to the area, and investigators say he never did. He now faces two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, felon in possession of a firearm, and failure to register as a convicted felon.
A judge denied bond at White’s Monday first appearance, with arraignment scheduled for November 30. The case raises questions about how felon registration is enforced when people relocate to the Suncoast, and whether neighbors have any way of knowing. What questions do you have for local officials about this case?
