Brandon Bascom, 31, of Orlando was shot and killed on December 17, 2016, at a Kwik Stop near Silver Star Road and Powers Drive in Pine Hills. The confrontation began after Bascom, who had been linked to a suspected mail-fraud scheme, followed a person he knew to the store and stabbed the rear tire of that person’s car. One passenger in that car drew a gun and shot Bascom. A third vehicle then arrived and an unidentified person in it fired additional shots; those rounds did not hit anyone.

Bascom tried to flee by reversing his car but was struck by another bullet from the initial shooter. His vehicle crossed Powers Drive and struck a shopper in a nearby parking lot, wounding her leg. Bascom was pronounced dead at Orlando Regional Medical Center. Investigators described the shooting as possibly justifiable; the occupants of the first car cooperated and their case materials were sent to the Orange-Osceola State Attorney’s Office for review.

Authorities later arrested Craig Lazar Bent, 33, charging him with first-degree felony murder and three counts of aggravated assault with a firearm, alleging he shot Bascom while Bascom was sitting in his car at the Kwik Stop. The shooter from the third car had not been found and the reason for that person’s involvement remained unclear. Did anyone in the Pine Hills area witness the confrontation or the third vehicle that evening?