Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Boy Shot In Eye With BB Gun, Teen Charged

A 17-year-old boy is facing a felony charge after deputies say he shot another teen in the eye with a BB gun in East Naples on Tuesday.

Matthew S. Lambert, 3450 Cherokee St., East Naples, is charged with felony battery.

The 15-year-old victim told deputies that he was riding his bicycle on a roadway near Sugden Community Park round 6 p.m. when he felt something hit him in the right eye, sheriff’s reports said.

The teen said he stopped his bike, looked up and saw Lambert standing next to him. Lambert told him he did not mean to hit him in the eye and then walked away, reports said.

The victim was taken to a hospital with serious injuries to his eye, reports said.

Witnesses told deputies that Lambert and two unidentified boys had been shooting BBs at small children in the area of Poplar Street earlier in the day, reports said. One woman told deputies that Lambert and the boys were laughing about shooting the victim in the eye, reports said.

Lambert and his father came to the Sheriff’s Office where the boy was arrested and turned over to the state Department of Juvenile Justice Detention Center.