SEMINOLE, Fla. — A 32-year-old man accused of sexually battering and strangling a woman was arrested early Sunday morning, the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office reports.
At around 3 a.m., deputies were dispatched to a home in Seminole on reports of a person with a gun at a party. Specifically, deputies received a complaint that one person was shot and the shooter left the scene.
According to deputies, a woman said Desmond Wilson, 32, forced his way inside her home and into her bedroom through a side door. She told deputies, "Wilson pointed a handgun at her head, struck her, sexually battered and strangled her and threatened to kill her."
A witness told investigators they heard the commotion coming from the bedroom.
Deputies say the woman cried out for help and was able to escape the room when her friends, who are familiar with him, confronted the man.
That's when witnesses told investigators that Wilson threatened them with a gun.
At that point, Jharfvan Thomas, 38, left the house to get his gun for protection, the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office said. When he returned, Wilson shot at Thomas and Thomas returned fire.
As a result of the exchange, Thomas received a non-life threatening gunshot wound to the leg and Wilson left the scene.
Deputies were able to track down Wilson and he was taken into custody, along with a gun found in his car. They also learned that he, too, had a gunshot wound to his arm and he was transported to the hospital.
After he was released from the hospital, detectives were able to interview Wilson and then place him under arrest on charges including armed sexual battery, attempted murder and domestic battery by strangulation.
He was booked into the Pinellas County Jail on a $100,000 bond.
