JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A 2014 shooting involving a former mayor of St. Augustine Beach and a man he had hired to work for him was ruled justifiable by the State Attorney's Office, News4Jax learned this week.
St. Johns County deputies said former Mayor Francis "Frank" Charles, 48, shot Blake Miles, 27, during an altercation at a Cimmarone home.
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According to the disposition report obtained by News4Jax, Charles had hired Miles to work at his pet resort, Dog Town USA, and Miles had been living at Charles' home as a house guest for a few days before the August 2014 shooting.
According to court documents, Miles demanded that Charles give him some money and drive him to Jacksonville to buy drugs. When Charles refused, Miles put him in a choke hold and kneed him in the head.
Charles got a handgun from his nightstand and told Miles to take some money and the keys to his van, the report said.
Miles said it was too late for that, and that’s when Charles shot him twice -- once each in the groin and abdomen, the report said.
Miles survived, and investigators found that his blood alcohol level at the time was 0.17 percent.
According to a Jacksonville Sheriff's Office report, in an incident before the shooting, Miles was arrested July 9, 2014, on charges of trespassing and resisting police at Dog Town USA on San Jose Boulevard in Mandarin.
Police said Charles had hired Miles to stay at the pet resort to watch the place. They said Miles called Charles late at night, intoxicated, making verbal threats and telling him he was going to release all the animals.
Charles called police and met them there, and there was a confrontation with Miles, police said.
Charles told Miles he was fired, and Miles was arrested when he tried to go back into the business, police said.