State Attorney Files Charges Against Both Individuals in Odd Brittany Lane Shooting

There was something weird about it from the moment Marc Barbee reported the incident to police on May 30.

Today (Sept. 5), Assistant State Attorney Josh Davis filed a second-degree felony charge against Barbee for wantonly shooting at another man in a car. Davis also filed charges against that man, Stephen Metcalf–a burglary charge (a third degree felony) and resisting arrest without violence (a misdemeanor).

As Barbee described it to Flagler County Sheriff’s deputies on May 30, he heard late that night that someone was trying to break into his house, so he turned on the lights, grabbed his .40-mm pistol, and investigated. He heard noises coming from the master bedroom window and the master bedroom’s sliding glass door, then saw a white man prowling around–and soon recognized the man as Metcalf: the two men knew each other.

The attempted break-in was documented by police later when they saw pry marks at the master bedroom’s window.

Barbee (who turns 39 on Sept. 8), according to a police report, went outside to pursue Metcalf, who disappeared in the woods adjacent to the Brittany Lane home. Metcalf, 31, of 49 Randolph Drive, then got in his Ford F-150. According to Barbee, Metcalf put his truck in reverse and tried to run him over, so Barbee fired three rounds at the Burgundy vehicle, which then sped off.

Barbee gave a description of the truck to police, who were able to arrest Metcalf soon afterward. Metcalf, according to police, was uncooperative “and would not comply with verbal commands,” but was ultimately taken into custody without further incidents.

But Barbee had also told cops that Metcalf had backed down the swale and over the hill where his and an adjoining property join when Metcalf allegedly tried to run him down. The day after the incident was reported, a deputy went to the scene “and found the swale to be intact,” according to the deputy’s report except for a portion near 151 Brittany Lane where the grass was torn up and acceleration marks were noted. “The grass in the swale was wet and there was no evidence that indicated a vehicle had driven over it,” the report states.

Two .40-caliber bullet casings were found on the road near the acceleration marks which, the deputy concludes, suggests that Barbee was by the swale and Metcalf in the truck, on the road, when the gun was fired. “Either way, [Barbee] could not have been on his property when he fired his gun,” the report states.

Another detail emerged from the reports that contradicted Barbee’s story: “During the 911 call [Barbee] made,” the report states, “one can hear a truck running and accelerate, then [Barbee] fires two, possibly three bullets from his gun. At no time during the call does [Barbee] make reference that his life is in danger or that anyone is backing up a vehicle trying to run him over.”

Barbee had originally told investigators that he didn’t know Metcalf. But he changed his story in the course of the evening of Metcalf’s arrest: the two men had known each other, and were not getting along. The inconsistencies eventually lead to Babee’s own arrest on an aggravated assault charge and a charge of shooting or throwing a deadly missile. The assault charge was not filed by the state attorney’s office.