Middleburg, Florida



From the Jacksonville's Jacksonville.com of June 5, 2004

2 shot in Middleburg altercation



...the Clay County Sheriff's Office is investigating a third shooting incident in Middleburg that left a man and a woman wounded.



The most recent shooting occurred just after 7 p.m. May 29 in a rural neighborhood off Thunder Road, south of County Road 218 near the Ravines. Details have not been completely unraveled by investigators just yet, but according to witnesses the shootings appeared to have been in self-defense, said Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Mary Justino.



"We have not made an arrest yet and are looking at the possibility that the shooting was justifiable," Justino said. "The 62-year-old shooter was being assaulted on his own property by a man half his age who is a registered violent felon."



George F. Partridge was at home on Dixie Drive when Christian Thomas Carter, 27, and Judy D. Robbins, 43, came onto his property to talk to him about something and an argument ensued.



"Mr. Partridge lives across the street from a woman who is the mother of the female victim," Justino said. "Mr. Partridge used to date her mother but they broke up. The feud stems from Judy Robbins thinking he had things that belonged to her mother."



All three became involved in a physical altercation, during which Carter "had Mr. Partridge in a headlock and was punching him," Justino said.



Witnesses later told officers they saw Partridge pull a handgun and shoot Carter and Robbins at close range, she said. When officers arrived, the two gunshot victims were sitting on the road, the woman bleeding from a stomach wound and her friend shot in the leg.



Both were taken to Shands Jacksonville and were expected to make a full recovery following surgery.



Why Partridge was carrying a .38-caliber revolver at the time was not clear. But Justino said he not only is more than twice Carter's age, but "apparently is pretty frail."



According to court records, Carter has been arrested numerous times on charges including disorderly intoxication, aggravated battery and carrying a concealed weapon. Judy Robbins also was arrested once for battery, Justino said.