PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA — A dispute over the location of a basketball hoop and the boundaries of two properties ended in a double murder in a residential area of Wellington over the weekend.
According to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office (PBSO), one of the witnesses to the incident clarified the causes of why Noram Scott, 63, shot a man and a woman outside a residence located in the Galleria. Street, in the Black Diamong residential complex, on Saturday afternoon.
The witness explained to officers that he heard gunshots and went outside to find his two neighbors covered in blood, according to an affidavit. Norman Scott, after the act, they entered his home.
According to the witness, Scott told him: “Don’t worry. “I shot them both.” The alleged admission was followed by Scott’s claims about the causes of the conflict and his claim that the victims attacked him first.
Officers who responded to the home on Galleria Street around 5:30 p.m. Saturday reported finding no weapons near the victims, identified as Taylor and Tara Jones. However, with the help of another witness, they reported finding eight surveillance cameras outside Scott’s residence.
“Video surveillance evidence establishes that the shooting was completely malicious and was not self-defense,” investigators determined. “Throughout the ordeal, Tara and Taylor Jones were never observed acting violently, aggressively, or exhibiting any type of threatening behavior toward Norman Scott.”
His account of footage from two of those cameras began with Taylor Jones picking up trash in a yard and moving a children’s bicycle to the front of his house. Moments later, Scott is seen gesturing to Jones and the two men began talking. Investigators noted that Scott was “clearly upset and appeared to be yelling at Taylor Jones,” PBSO stated. To the contrary, the affidavit explicitly states that Jones never appeared “aggressive, threatening, volatile or belligerent.”
Investigators contrasted his arm movements, saying Scott was pointing and waving a hand belligerently in Jones’ face, while the latter’s gestures were described as non-threatening. Many of the gestures, the affidavit adds, were directed toward the basketball hoop.
Less than 30 seconds after calling Jones, Scott pulled out a firearm and soon fired three or four shots at the retreating Jones before standing over the victim and continuing to shoot, PBSO alleges. Jones’ wife was still on her property and upon leaving she confronted Scott when he pointed the gun at her. Detectives said she was retreating and Scott was advancing when he began shooting. After shooting her, the affidavit says, Scott returned to his home and fired two more shots at Taylor Jones as he walked over the body.
The entire encounter lasted less than a minute, according to the PBSO schedule.
Scott, 63, was arrested early Sunday on two counts of first-degree premeditated murder with a firearm. During his first appearance that day, a judge ordered him held without bail.
He waived his charge through his attorney and pleaded not guilty, court documents show. He is due back in court on June 3.
2024-05-06 17:48:55
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