LEE COUNTY, Fla. -- Charges have been filed against a Lee County deputy that reportedly discharged a firearm several times at his Buckingham home earlier this week.
Deputy Mark Young is facing one count of Domestic Violence against his wife, one count of Discharging a Firearm While Intoxicated, and two counts of Aggravated Assault Against a Law Enforcement Officer.
The charges stem from an altercation early Wednesday morning on Cemetery Road, during which deputies were called to his house to find Young heavily intoxicated and armed.
According to a LCSO report, Young had finished off at least two 12-packs of beer and began arguing and fighting with his wife and stepson.
His family fled before deputies arrived, and Young refused to exit the house when they got there. Several times Young fired round from inside the house as law enforcement tried to approach. At one point he claimed to have a grenade strapped to his leg, and told SWAT members that there were booby traps set around the property.
Authorities eventually use a non-lethal weapon to subdue Young and take him into custody.
"Today's arrest shows that whether you're hiding behind a dumpster or a bush or a badge, you're going to be charged accordingly, he's being charged and treated just as anyone else would be," says Sheriff Mike Scott.
According to Sheriff Scott, Deputy Young was hired by LCSO in 1998, after a stint in the Marine Corps. He was promoted to Sergeant in 2004, but was reprimanded for insubordination. "Unfortunately we started to see a little bit of a decline, and as you know a couple years back he was demoted from sergeant to deputy."
Young went on medical leave in December, then deemed unfit for duty in January. He had his gun, badge, and car taken.
