Captain hits sailor with knockout blow and opens fire on Florida boat, feds say
A boat captain sentenced to seven years in federal prison had assaulted two deckhands during a multiday fishing trip, trying to kill one of them, prosecutors said.
While captaining the boat off the coast of northwest Florida in April 2024, Terry S. Carrington, 38, of Carrabelle, hit one of the deckhands with a knockout blow, breaking his jaw in what prosecutors called an unprovoked attack.
Carrington then got a rifle and opened fire on the second deckhand, missing him with shots that struck the boat cabin, court documents say.
“(Carrington) tried to shoot him three or four times as they wrestled for control of the gun,” prosecutors wrote in court filings.
One of the bullets hit the ceiling after prosecutors said Carrington had “aimed the gun up toward (the deckhand’s) head and pulled the trigger.”
The struggle ended with the sailor getting ahold of the gun, followed by the other deckhand regaining consciousness, according to a June 18 news release by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida.
Both men overpowered Carrington and took over the boat, according to prosecutors, driving it for several hours to a dock in Apalachicola in Franklin County, along the Florida Panhandle. Then they called authorities.
Carrington’s criminal defense attorney, R. Timothy Jansen, did not immediately return McClatchy News’ request for comment.
Drug use related to assaults
According to prosecutors, investigators learned drug use played a role in what happened on the boat.
Carrington had taken an illegal stimulant while the men commercially fished for red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico, renamed the Gulf of America by President Donald Trump, leading to the violence, prosecutors argued in their sentencing memo.
“What the evidence actually shows is that (Carrington) used methamphetamine, became delusional, and assaulted Victim 2 and tried to kill Victim 1” who “had fished with (him) prior to” the April 22, 2024 “fishing trip,” the filing says.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse warns methamphetamine can be addictive. The synthetic drug has a high potential for abuse.
In a statement to the Tallahassee Democrat, Jansen said the “unfortunate event was the result of drug use that caused Mr. Carrington to suffer an overdose which resulted in hallucinations and voices that led to the violence against the deckhands.”
“People need to realize that ingesting drugs can result in catastrophic results for the user and others,” Jansen told the newspaper. “Mr. Carrington apologized to the victims in court for his uncontrollable actions that day and is open to treatment for his addiction.”
A federal judge in Tallahassee handed Carrington his 7-year sentence on June 18, after he pleaded guilty to assault with a dangerous weapon and assault resulting in serious bodily injury, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
According to prosecutors, the deckhand they referred to as Victim 1 who Carrington tried to shoot had seen Carrington “snort what (he) believed was methamphetamine” on other fishing trips “when he needed to stay up and work.”
The sailor reported Carrington’s drug use had “gotten worse” over time, prosecutors said.
After the boat reached shore following assaults, he gave him Carrington rifle, which he had “disassembled” and hidden, according to prosecutors.
Then the man, Carrington and the other deckhand tied the boat at the dock, court documents say.
Shortly before leaving the area, the sailor Carrington is accused of knocking out tried to retrieve his personal items from the boat, according to the sentencing memo.
“(Carrington) though, had put (his) belongings off the boat and even threatened to kill him if he attempted to get back onboard,” the filing says.
The man left to call 911, then drove to a hospital for his broken jaw, according to prosecutors.
The Florida FWC and the Coast Guard also worked with the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office to investigate Carrington, prosecutors said.
In a statement, U.S. Attorney John P. Heekin said the sentence holds Carrington “responsible for his violent, unprovoked attack on two innocent individuals.”
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