A woman charged with giving her husband a pistol during a disturbance with a family at a convenience store was found guilty Thursday of multiple charges associated with the subsequent shootings that wounded two people.
State Attorney Larry Basford said Norma Thomas was found guilty as charged of two counts of Principal to Aggravated Battery, Principal to Shooting into an Occupied Vehicle, Principal to Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon, and Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon. Circuit Court Judge Shonna Young Gay set sentencing for Aug. 7.
The defendant’s husband Tighree Thomas, who fired 8 shots, is serving a 20-year prison sentence after pleading no contest to two counts of Aggravated Battery with a Firearm, two counts of Aggravated Assault, and one count of Shooting into an Occupied Vehicle.
Prosecutor Zachary VanDyke called witnesses and put on evidence – including surveillance video – proving that the defendant handed her husband a gun after the initial confrontation as the people in the truck were attempting to leave.
VanDyke said the Bay County Sheriff’s Office did a good job of coordinating and processing three separate crime scenes where key evidence was recovered – including the video surveillance footage and the gun.
“We are grateful the jurors saw that the defendant’s decision to give her husband a gun was made well after any danger to the defendants had passed,” VanDyke said. “Because of her actions, then everyone in that area was in danger as those bullets flew. You cannot go after people and shoot them in situations like this and we will continue to aggressively prosecute these cases.”
The evidence showed the Thomases, a nephew, and a friend were together at a Beach gas station around 2:50 a.m. on Aug. 14, 2022. Tighree Thomas and one of the men from the truck began arguing and it turned physical when the man punched Thomas, knocking him down.
That man and his brother fled to their truck, parked about 20 feet away, and were attempting to leave when Tighree Thomas, who had told his wife to get a gun, went over to the truck, followed by his wife.
Norma Thomas is seen beating on the truck’s driver’s window and handing her husband the gun. He is seen going to the other side of the truck and pulling open the door. There is a struggle as the truck’s occupants attempt to shut the doors, then the driver backs out and starts to pull away.
Tighree Thomas is seen taking a shooting stance and firing 8 rounds at the fleeing truck. The two people in the back seat were each struck by bullets.
Basford thanked the Bay County Sheriff’s Office for its hard work on the case that has now helped to lead to two convictions.
For more information, contact Mike Cazalas at mike.cazalas@sa14.fl.gov, or call 850-381-7454.