Who: 
Pinellas County Sheriff Office
- Patrol Operations Bureau

Charles William Richardson (Arrested)
DOB: 03/24/1981
Address: 319 Westmoreland Drive, Dunbar,  West Virginia
Charges: Two counts of shooting a deadly missile into/at/within a occupied building (Felony)

What: 
Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to reports of a man shooting a firearm at a hotel in St. Pete Beach.

When:
The incident occurred at approximately 7:58 a.m. on Thursday, May 19, 2016.

Where:
The incident occurred at the Beachcomber Hotel located at 6200 Gulf Boulevard in St. Pete Beach.

Why/How:
Deputies responded to reports of a man shooting a firearm at the Beachcomber Hotel on St. Petersburg Beach.

According to deputies, when they arrived at the hotel they located the suspect, 35-year-old Charles William Richardson, sitting in the lobby unarmed.

Deputies determined that Richardson, who was a guest at the hotel, used a handgun to shoot the lock on his hotel room door because he had locked himself out of his room. Richardson then proceeded to shoot a glass window at the hotel for no apparent reason.

No one was injured at the hotel as a result of the shooting.

Deputies recovered the handgun near Richardson’s hotel room.  

Richardson was arrested and transported to the Pinellas County Jail without incident. He was charged with two felony counts of shooting a deadly missile into/at/within an occupied building.

The investigation continues.


Booking Photograph of Charles Richardson.