BRANDON, Fla. — A $2,556.40 credit card debt was the motive behind a fatal shooting at the Brandon Citibank facility, according to Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister.
The Tampa Bay 28 I-Team uncovered that a lawsuit was filed against the suspect, 35-year-old Jacob Pearson, by Citibank in Orange County late last month.
The case was all over $2,500 Pearson owed on a credit card.
A frightening scene at the Citibank facility
The frightening scene played out Wednesday as Pearson drove through a barricade and got out of his wrecked silver sedan, armed with a handgun and an AR rifle.
Deputies arrived just as Pearson crashed through the gate and fired shots at an employee in the courtyard.
A lawsuit over credit card debt
Chronister said the incident came after an Orlando attorney got a frightening phone call from Pearson.
"Our suspect in this case contacted an attorney's office that is contracted by Citibank for collection. He was upset, irate, because he received a summons to go to court," Chronister said.
We learned that the case had been filed in Orange County Circuit Court October 23rd.
The complaint alleged Pearson owed $2,556.40 on a "My Best Buy Visa Platinum" brand credit card issued by Citibank.
The court record shows that the lawsuit was served on his wife last Thursday at the couple's apartment in the Oak Bend apartment complex in Orlando.
The threatening phone call
Chronister said that on Wednesday, Pearson called the debt collector attorney's office and made a serious threat.
"Unless you want me to go over there with my AR-15, my bulletproof vest and my insanity, you MF, and cancel this court case. Do you understand me? There are only 1 hour and 3 minutes away, so the last thing you want to do is f with me," Chronister said.
The attorney called Orlando police, who went to his apartment, where his wife told officers he had already left.
Response and timeline
A Google Map shows the Citibank complex is approximately 78 miles from Pearson's apartment complex.
Orlando police alerted Citibank security and the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, which sent deputies to the office complex.
We searched court records in multiple states and could not find any prior criminal charges against Pearson.
He was shot and killed by a Citibank security guard after fatally shooting 41-year-old Leanne Selman.
Four other people were injured in the attack.
A hearing for the credit card lawsuit was not scheduled until February.
