Navy man was twirling gun when it went off, cops say. What he told them led to arrests

A 22-year-old U.S. Navy service member and his wife lied to officers after he shot himself in the shoulder while playing with a Glock 9mm handgun, police said.

Their original story was that a robber shot the husband while he was jogging.

In reality, the husband was twirling the handgun on his finger went it fired into his shoulder, police said.

Damarcus Darnell Benjamin, who is from Georgia, and Kiana Neshell Benjamin, 22, were arrested Monday on charges of making a false report to law enforcement, a misdemeanor.

Kiana Benjamin is not in the Navy. The couple lives in Key West.

Damarcus Benjamin was treated at Lower Keys Medical Center the night on Nov. 20 with a wound to his left shoulder that was not life-threatening.

He first told Key West police officers that a robber shot him near the DoubleTree Resort by Hilton Hotel Grand Key, 3990 S. Roosevelt Blvd., police said.

But he changed his story and said the robber shot him near the CVS on Stock Island while he was out jogging.

“Under further questioning, Benjamin eventually stated the truth was that he was playing with a handgun — twirling it with his finger — while riding as a passenger in a Jeep Cherokee with his wife who was driving,” said Adam Linhardt, spokesman for the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.

Key West police had already sent officers and K-9 units to the DoubleTree area.

Kiana Benjamin also initially said she had picked up her husband near CVS after a robber had shot him while he was jogging.

Police said Damarcus told Kiana to tell the truth and she admitted her husband shot himself while playing with the gun.

After the gun went off, Damarcus Benjamin told his wife to drive him to the hospital. His hand tested positive for gunshot residue, police said.

Both were jailed at the Stock Island Detention Center. They were released the same day. Kiana Benjamin posted a $5,000 bond but her husband was released without having to post bond, according to jail records.

This story was originally published November 26, 2019 at 1:32 PM.

Gwen Filosa

Miami Herald

Gwen Filosa covers Key West and the Lower Florida Keys for FLKeysNews.com and the Miami Herald and lives in Key West. She was part of the staff at the New Orleans Times-Picayune that in 2005 won two Pulitzer Prizes for coverage of Hurricane Katrina. She graduated from Indiana University.