Police were called to the 600 block of 74th Street North in St. Petersburg at about 11:45 a.m. Sunday morning regarding a shooting.
When officers arrived Adrian Exposito, 46, told them that he and his son Andrew,22, were having an argument and that it was agreed that Andrew would pack his belongings and move out.
In the process of packing, the father said that his son took a laptop computer that belonged to him and left the house. Once outside the father confronted Andrew in the street and told him to return the computer, but he refused.
As the father approached to retrieve the computer, the son pulled out a revolver from his pocket and pointed it at his father.
He then lowered the gun pointing it at the ground near his father feet and fired one round which struck the pavement.
Bullet fragments and/or bits of asphalt flew up and hit the father in the lower leg resulting very minor wounds.
Andrew then left the area while his father returned back to the house to call the police.
Responding officers located Andrew near the Pinellas Trail at 7 Avenue North and 70th Street. He was searched, but no firearm was located and he immediately denied firing or possessing a gun.
After interviewing the father, an eyewitness and seeing the physical evidence that a gun had been discharged, Andrew was placed under arrested and charged with Aggravated Assault and being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm.
A thorough search by officers of the immediate neighborhood was unable to locate the firearm used and officers are concerned of the potential for child to find the gun if not located by a responsible authority beforehand. Appeals to Andrew to point out the location of the gun for that reason have so far met with negative result.
Anyone living in the area between 74th Street to 70th Street North, between 6th and 7th Avenue is asked to be especially vigilant to the potential for a gun to have been disposed somewhere in their neighborhood.
Should a gun be found they should of course contact the St. Petersburg Police at 727-893-7780.
It should be noted that Andrew Exposito was the subject of a SWAT deployment in May 31st of 2011 when he apparently produced several Molotov cocktails and remained barricaded in the home at 601 74th Street North threatening to set the house a blaze.
He did eventually surrender and was charged with threatening to deploy a destructive device in that case. He was released in February of this year after serving time on that charge at the Pinellas County Jail.
