VERO BEACH — A Vero man is behind bars after he allegedly assaulted his roommate and shot up her car as she was trying to get his location for police.
Arthur Sanders, 30, faces charges of felony aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, misdemeanor discharging a firearm in public, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, throwing a destructive device, misdemeanor battery domestic violence, and misdemeanor criminal mischief, according to his booking report.
On Sunday around 5 a.m., in the 1100 block of 12th Avenue SW, Sanders arrived home, became upset while looking through his cellphone, and hit his roommate several times in the face, according to the affidavit. He broke the victim’s cellphone, but she was able to retrieve her keys and left out the rear window and drove to her mother’s home, where she called police.
After alerting police, she drove back to the location of the alleged assault because her children were still in the home, and Sanders has a history of running from the police, according to the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office. When she approached in her car, Sanders allegedly threw a “For Sale” yard sign at her car. She circled again, and this time he allegedly threw a shovel at her car, causing the windshield to break. She circled the block one more time, and police say Sanders opened fire with a silver revolver three times. She heard him say that he was “going to kill her.”
Sanders said in an interview with authorities that he was trying to “bust out the tire.”
A K-9 deputy located the gun some distance south of the home after a cursory search did not locate the firearm, according to authorities. Authorities found a small bullet hole in the rear passenger side behind the rear tire.
Sanders is being held at the Indian River County Jail in lieu of $60,000 bond.