Police: Driver faces attempted murder of officer charge

A 22-year-old Palm Bay man who investigators said tried to strike a Melbourne police officer with a car, did not have a driver's license and had a small piece of rock cocaine in his possession when he fled from police into a darkened apartment complex driveway Sunday morning.

The officer, identified as Melbourne police officer Timothy Sonnenberg, shouted for the driver to stop and then fired off several rounds into the oncoming Chevy Impala, striking a front seat passenger in the neck and arm. The officers were not injured and the passenger that was wounded remained in stable condition Monday, officials reported.

James Markel Turpin was charged with attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, aggravated assault, resisting with violence and possession of cocaine hours after the shooting in the rear of the Shull Manor apartment complex, 711 E. University Blvd. Turpin, who later tried to explain to officers that he was without his glasses and couldn't't see well while driving, remains held on a $37,500 bond at the Brevard County Jail Complex.

"I am grateful that the involved officers were not injured. With the information we have at this time, the shooting appears to be within the parameters of our policy and response to resistance. We will continue to work with the FDLE while they conclude this investigation," said Chief Steve Mimbs of the Melbourne Police Department in a statement released early Monday.

The officers were placed on administrative leave while case is being investigated by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

"That is normal protocol," said Cheryl Trainer, a spokeswoman for the Melbourne Police Department.

The incident began 12:09 a.m. Sunday, as officers Sonneberg and Urian D'errico were patrolling south Melbourne together in a marked car. Sonneberg, a four-year veteran with the agency, and D'errico spotted a black, four-door Chevy Impala – a Hertz rental car - speeding east on University Boulevard, a 30 mph roadway and called in to dispatchers to report a 'suspicious vehicle,' records show.

The pair then attempted to catch up to the Impala, records show. It was not immediately known if the cruiser's emergency lights were on. The driver of the Impala, later identified as Turpin, abruptly pulled into the front entrance of Shull Manor.

Moments later the officers followed, driving along a darkened driveway to get to the rear of the complex. The officers spotted the Impala, with its lights off, backed into a parking space.

The officers then got out of their patrol car to investigate when Turpin backed out of the parking space, its tires peeling, as it rolled toward Sonnenberg. The officers yelled for the driver to stop but when the vehicle continued toward them, Sonnenberg fired off several rounds into the Impala. One caller to 9-1-1 reported hearing at least 'eight or nine,' according to police reports.

A few yards away, Erica Pressley was asleep with her 3-year-old son in her apartment, when she said she was awakened by the sound of rapid gunfire. "I heard the gunshots and it woke both of us up," said Pressley, who has lived at the complex for three years. She stepped outside moments later and heard one of the officers standing near one of the men shouting, 'are you trying to (expletive) kill me?'"

"I came out and saw the guys lying on the ground…handcuffed," she said, adding that at least one of the men had on a fast food uniform. Several residents began gathering near the shooting scene as police – including Palm Bay police officers – arrived to set up a perimeter.

"There was a girl, she was sitting on the curb just going on … hysterical, crying. But other than that I wouldn't have known anybody was shot," she said Sunday. Mikeisha Alves, the 20-year-old backseat passenger in the Impala, was not injured and initially refused to cooperate with the investigation into the shooting. She was later released and was advised by an attorney not to speak about the case, a family member told FLORIDA TODAY.

A short time after Abad, bleeding from the neck, was rushed to Holmes Regional Medical Center for treatment of his injuries, more than a dozen family members and friends arrived. Police roped off the driveway for nearly five hours before leaving, records show.

Pressley, however, said the incident was just the latest to leave her troubled as she tries to raise her young son. Other residents point out that outsiders are often the cause of many problems at the complex. Most recently, a prayer rally held in September by several local pastors wanting to bring help to struggling residents and draw attention to the spate of violence affecting the neighborhood.

"It's ridiculous," Pressley said, shaking her head as she held her son. "It's just not safe over here."

Family members and friends of Turpin and the two passengers remained mostly quiet about the incident. Elizabeth Dickey, the grandmother of Turpin, said she didn't want to talk about the circumstances of what led to her grandson's arrest. But she did say she would reserve judgment until she heard from Turpin.

"I haven't heard from and I don't know his story," she said. "Not sugar-coating anything, he's okay, he has his flaws, like you and anybody else," she told FLORIDA TODAY. "There's good and bad in all the kids."

Contact Gallop at 321-242-3642, jdgallop@floridatoday.com or Twitter.com@jdgallop