Port Charlotte Navy veteran killed after kicking suspect out of home

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. (WINK)—Charles Anderson III spent this week cleaning out his father's home and preparing for a funeral he never imagined he'd have to plan.

Anderson's father, Charles Anderson II, was shot and killed at his Port Charlotte home. The Charlotte County Sheriff's Office identified Matthew Ryan Cross as the shooter.

"It was a disbelief that he had been shot. I thought maybe something was wrong," Anderson said.

Anderson lives in Texas and was told by deputies that his father had been killed. While he didn't know Cross, the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office said his father did.

Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummell said Anderson knew Cross because he was friends with someone living there. Anderson told Cross he was no longer welcome in the home. Two people were with Anderson when he was shot.

Newly released 911 calls captured the two people begging for help. The callers identified Cross as the shooter.

The sheriff's office shared Wednesday that investigators believe Cross broke into the victim's home on March 27 and stole several things, including a gun Cross was holding when he was shot and killed by deputies days later. The Sheriff's Office said the same night as the burglary, someone was shot at Anderson's home.

Bullet holes are still visible in the garage door. Anderson said their final conversation was about the burglary.

"He asked me to call up one of the detectives who was handling the burglary case to let him know, to give him a description of a coin I had given him," Anderson said. "I was at work at the time, I just texted him back, and I think that may have been the time he had gotten killed."

Anderson said his father spent years in the Navy before buying a gas station and working as a mechanic. When he was 19, his dad pushed him to join the Navy by saying he was going to sell the gas station.

"He wanted me to experience the world, not Port Charlotte," Anderson said. "I'm grateful he did. I made a career out of it, did 20 years. That's my dad."

Anderson will be laid to rest at a Sarasota veterans cemetery on Monday. The sheriff's office said investigators believe Cross acted alone in the burglary.