HENDRY COUNTY, Fla. — A Hendry County man is facing several felony charges after shooting his brother and a teen bystander in a rage that started with a disagreement over twenty dollars.
In the early afternoon of March 15, deputies say 45-year-old, Tommie Lee Thicklin was arguing with his two brothers over twenty dollars near the 900 block of the Harlem Gardens community.
The argument eventually stopped and the three men parted ways.
A short time later, one of the men received text messages from Thicklin, accusing the two brothers of talking about him behind his back.
At approximately 10:33 pm, the two brothers were talking on the 900 block of the Harlem Gardens community and saw Thicklin approaching. He was yelling at them for talking behind his back before pulling out a gun and pointing it at one of them. The other brother pushed the gun away. Thicklin fired two shots into the air as he threatened to shoot them.
One brother sought shelter in a nearby apartment while the other walked behind a parked car. Thicklin followed behind the vehicle and began firing several shots.
One round struck his brother in the mouth. A second round went through the rear window of a car, striking a sixteen-year-old girl in the back of the head.
Both victims were treated at the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Thicklin was arrested without incident in the 1100 block of Alabama Avenue. He is facing charges of Attempted Murder, Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon, Aggravated Battery with a Deadly Weapon, Child Abuse, Shooting a Deadly Missile into an Occupied Vehicle, Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon, Using a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony, Possession of a Concealed Firearm, and Destroying Evidence.
Thicklin is currently being held on a $750,000 bond.
