VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – A former Orange County corrections officer accused of shooting a man in DeLand almost two years ago was acquitted of attempted murder and attempted manslaughter Wednesday in Volusia County court.
Robert Jacobs, now 52, was found not guilty on Wednesday of a charge of attempted second-degree murder and a charge of attempted manslaughter, court records show.
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Jacobs was arrested on Sept. 10, 2021, after shooting a man in front of a home along Laisy Drive, according to his charging affidavit.
Witnesses said the 45-year-old victim had been screaming at a woman inside the home over money, records show. Jacobs approached the front door with a gun in hand, opening the door briefly to speak with the man, the affidavit states.
Jacobs told Volusia deputies the man stated “I got something for you” upon seeing the gun, according to a charging affidavit. Jacobs claims the victim then went back to the vehicle he arrived in and reached into the driver’s side before walking back toward the doorway, records show.
It was at this point that Jacobs said he shot at the man four times while in fear for his life, but the report notes that video of the incident — recorded by a neighbor — contradicted Jacobs’ account.
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In that video, deputies said the man who was shot could be seen pulling into the home’s driveway and spending several minutes at the front door before retreating about ten feet and re-approaching the house. The man was then recorded running past the vehicle and into the roadway before disappearing off camera, the affidavit states, adding analysis of the two gunshot wounds to the man’s hip and leg suggested he was shot as he was facing away from Jacobs.
Jacobs had been with Orange County Corrections since April 2018 before being placed on relief of duty without pay following the shooting, later leaving the agency in October 2021 due to relocating.
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