DELAND, Fla. — A 71-year-old DeLand man with a history of arming himself against imaginary assailants is behind bars for doing just that early Sunday morning, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office said.
In his front yard, Herbert Tipton allegedly started shooting at imaginary intruders he believed were on his property on Brevity Lane around 2 a.m., deputies said.
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About 20 minutes later, he allegedly began firing shots inside his home, but not any at his daughter, investigators said.
His adult daughter reported that he claimed he’d shot someone and that he wouldn’t let her leave the house because he believed there were intruders about to hurt them, deputies said.
Deputies were familiar with Tipton. He allegedly armed himself with a rifle to defend himself from imaginary intruders in his front yard two weeks ago.
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A deputy who knew Tipton personally was able to disarm him then, and the same deputy disarmed him Sunday.
Deputies were able to take Tipton into custody. His daughter and his dog.were not injured, deputies said.
While clearing the house, deputies found numerous guns and ammunition around the house as well as damage from 12-gauge shotgun blasts in multiple rooms.
Tipton is facing charges of reckless discharge of a firearm, aggravated assault and false imprisonment and was taken to the Volusia County jail.