Man killed by resident during burglary identified
A suspect believed to be involved with a residential burglary in Brooksville on Tuesday morning was shot and killed at a Floral City home later in the day, according to the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office.
Johnathan Braden, 27, of Crystal River, was shot and killed after a confrontation at 13347 S. Old Jones in Floral City, Citrus deputies said.
Law enforcement officials said Braden entered and burglarized the rural home in the early afternoon.
Resident Theron Dunn heard noises in the home, which belongs to his parents, and armed himself with a gun and went to investigate. When he walked inside, Braden was pointing a gun at him, according to the sheriff’s office.
After a short standoff, Dunn convinced the burglar to put down the firearm, which he found while ransacking the home, and leave, deputies said.
As he walked by, Braden hit Dunn in the face, and began choking him, deputies said. Dunn then reached for his gun and shot Braden, according to deputies.
Dunn, who did not have access to a telephone, posted on Facebook for someone to call 911. Deputies arrived at 1:43 p.m. and found the intruder dead.
Dunn has not been arrested or charged with the shooting, according to Citrus sheriff’s spokeswoman Heather Yates.
Braden is believed to be one of two suspects who burglarized a Brooksville home a few hours earlier, according to the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office.
Hernando deputies responded to 16199 Flavian Road in Brooksville just before 11 a.m. after a homeowner called to report two men were on the house’s porch, trying to enter the home.
Other 911 callers alerted the sheriff’s office to two males in the area who were wearing camouflage and running through yards.
One of the alleged burglars, Timothy Stone, was seen carrying a knife, according to Hernando deputies. The men took a pair of Nike shoes and a duffel bag, and fled the scene, deputies said.
The Hernando sheriff’s office called in air support and a K-9 team, which tracked Stone to the area of Spring Prairie and Friendly roads, deputies said. A knife was recovered and Stone was arrested on charges of armed burglary to a structure or conveyance. Stone, 29, of Dunnellon, was being held at the Hernando County Jail on Thursday in lieu of $50,000 bail.
