Man Pleads Not Guilty To Shooting Fleeing Son On Riding Lawn Mower

A Walnut Hill man has pleaded not guilty at an arraignment hearing for allegedly shooting his son on a riding lawn mower.

Marshall H. Harmon, 71, was charged with aggravated battery using a deadly weapon for the June 27 incident on Breastworks Road about a mile west of North Pine Barren Road.

Harmon and his 32-year old son had become involved in a verbal altercation at a nearby home, deputies said. The son then fled on Breastworks Road on a riding lawn mower, the father following in his pickup truck.

When the elder Harmon pulled alongside his son on the riding mower, Harmon fired two shots in the son’s direction, according to Sgt. Andrew Hobbs, spokesperson for the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. It did not immediately appear that Harmon intended to shoot his son, but may have instead accidentally hit him.

One of the shots hit the son in the neck, but the officials said the wound was not life threatening. The son was airlifted by Lifeguard helicopter to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola.

Harmon was taken into custody without incident at the scene of the shooting. He was released from the Escambia County Jail June 30 on a $25,000 bond. He is due back in court in for a hearing in mid-October, and his jury trial is set to begin in late October.

Pictured top: Suspect Marshall Harmon stands against his truck (far left background) as an Escambia County Sheriff’s deputy (center) checks a weapon Harmon allegedly used to shoot his son June 27 on Breastworks Road. Pictured bottom inset: A deputy explains charges to Harmon. Pictured bottom: The shooting victim was airlifted from a field on Breastworks Road to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola.