WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A 44-year-old man was found guilty Wednesday in connection with the deadly shooting of his roommate near West Palm Beach.
A jury convicted Alfredo Bless of second-degree murder with a firearm and shooting into a building, also a felony, on March 25, 2019. A pre-sentencing status check has been scheduled for May 9 with Circuit Court Judge Caroline Cahill Shepherd.
The victim was Evan Schottenheimer, 28.
Bless and Schottenheimer had an argument over Bless' garbage can before the shooting.
Deputies responded to a civil matter in the 5100 block of Eadie Place and found a man shot to death in the chest, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office.
A witness and friend of Schottenheimer, who was at the home at the time of the shooting, said he heard the gunshot and "could see smoke coming from the gun."
The witness told police that Schottenheimer did not have any weapons at the time of the altercation and was leaving the home when Bless shot through a partition.
Bless called 911 to report the incident and told dispatchers that he was attacked by his roommate, who was armed with a knife. However, video evidence that police obtained of the incident showed that Schottenheimer was not armed at the time of the attack.