Incident occurs near Robert L. Taylor Community Complex
A 23-year-old Sarasota man has been charged with Aggravated Battery with a Firearm in connection with a shooting that occurred in Newtown on Sunday, May 28, the Sarasota Police Department has reported.
Nevaun M. Chamberlain, of 3223 Natures Circle, Apartment 202, was arrested just after 9 p.m. on May 28, his Probable Cause Affidavit said. He was released on $25,000 bond on May 29, his Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office Corrections Division record noted.
Chamberlain was identified in that record as being unemployed. His arraignment is scheduled for July 14.
The identity of the solitary victim in the incident, who was shot in the abdomen, is being protected under the state’s Marsy’s Law, the Police Department noted in a May 30 news release. The victim drove to Sarasota Memorial Hospital before Sarasota Police officers arrived on the scene of the incident, the release added “The victim has since been discharged from the hospital,” the release pointed out.
Chamberlain stayed on the scene to speak with detectives, Sarasota Police officers said. He also was the person who called 911 to report the incident, the release noted.
Based upon the evidence gathered in this case, and after consultation with the State Attorney’s Office for the 12th Judicial Circuit, “detectives do not believe this qualified as a justifiable use of deadly force,” the release explained.
Chamberlain’s Probable Cause Affidavit did say that he “had scrapes on his knees,” which an officer photographed.
Both Chamberlain and his girlfriend, Yamaris Guevarez, spoke with officers after the incident, the affidavit continued. They were transported to the department’s headquarters on Adams Lane in downtown Sarasota.
Their statements were redacted in the affidavit.
In the initial alert about the shooting, Sarasota Police Department personnel said the incident occurred just after 5 p.m. on May 28 in the 1800 block of John Rivers Street in Sarasota.
“This is an isolated incident and there is no threat to the public,” that release and the May 30 release both pointed out.
The incident remains under investigation, the new release said.
John Rivers Street runs east-west between Washington Boulevard and North Osprey Avenue, a map shows. It is just south of the City of Sarasota’s Robert L. Taylor Community Complex, whose northern boundary is Myrtle Street.
The location is within the African-American community of Newtown.
A Sarasota News Leader search of 12th Judicial Circuit Court records found only one prior charge for Chamberlain. Dated back to Sept. 26, 2018, it involved a petit larceny case, and it noted that it was a first offense.
The citation said that he was arrested after allegedly pocketing two pairs of earrings in a store at University Town Center and then leaving the store without paying for them. The citation noted their retail value at $76.
Chamberlain ended up pleading guilty on May 28, 2019, court records show. However, in a later document — dated June 13, 2019 — the plea was changed to “No Contest,” He was ordered to pay restitution, placed on probation for six months, and ordered to perform 25 hours of community service and to complete a “Theft Offender Program Course.”
With fees added in, his total court costs added up to $368, another document showed.