A simple night of drinking at a DeLand bar took a dangerous turn when one man refused to let a $5 beer debt slide.
The shocking dispute escalated from a verbal confrontation to gunfire in just moments.
And a Florida man learned a harsh lesson about drinking etiquette after a $5 beer dispute turned violent.
Florida man charged with attempted murder over $5 beer
Calvin Roosevelt Gilbert, 55, faces serious legal consequences after allegedly shooting at another man outside McCabe’s Bar in DeLand, Florida in the early morning hours of Saturday, May 24.
Gilbert and the victim, who had never met before that evening, had been drinking together at the bar.
According to witnesses, Gilbert purchased a $5 beer for the other man during the night.
When the establishment closed around 2:00 a.m., Gilbert confronted the victim in the parking lot, demanding repayment for the beer.
What began as a verbal exchange quickly escalated into a life-threatening situation.
According to the DeLand Police Department, Gilbert allegedly “approached the victim, removed a black handgun from a satchel he was wearing, and fired a single shot from approximately three feet away.”
The victim managed to duck just in time, avoiding what could have been a fatal shot.
Instead, the bullet struck an exterior cooler before penetrating the wall of a nearby building, which was occupied at the time.
Officers responded to the scene at approximately 2:05 a.m. and recovered a single 9mm shell casing from the parking lot.
They also observed physical damage consistent with the shooting report.
Surveillance footage captured the escape attempt
After firing the shot, Gilbert didn’t stick around to face the consequences of his actions.
Surveillance video captured him fleeing the scene on foot before driving away in a 1999 Nissan Quest van.
The footage proved crucial for law enforcement in identifying the suspect.
Both the victim and bar employees were shown a photo lineup and positively identified Gilbert as the shooter.
The following day, Sunday, May 25, authorities located Gilbert and placed him under arrest.
He was booked into the Volusia County Jail without bond on charges of attempted first-degree murder and using a firearm while under the influence of alcohol.
Second shooting at troubled DeLand bar in a month
This shooting marks the second violent incident at McCabe’s Bar in less than a month, raising serious concerns about the establishment’s safety.
On May 3, a deadly shooting occurred at the same location when former University of Miami football player Avantae Williams allegedly shot 32-year-old Keshod Harris seven times in the chest during an altercation.
Harris later died from his injuries.
During that incident, a bartender named Courtney Rickman was also shot in both hands while attempting to separate the two men.
“It was the most terrifying thing I’ve ever been through,” Rickman told local media. “It happened so fast that I didn’t really have time to get scared when it happened, but it keeps coming back, it replays in your mind over and over.”
Bar faces potential consequences
The string of violent incidents has put McCabe’s Bar under scrutiny from both law enforcement and property owners.
The bar has reportedly been served with a violation of lease notice, and police are reviewing the establishment’s liquor license.
“The owners of the bar, they have a lease, an agreement, with the management of McCabe’s Bar,” police stated during a press conference. “And I’m being told they’re in violation of some of these parts of the lease. And the ownership is going to demand that the hours of operation change.”
This case serves as a stark reminder of how quickly disputes can escalate when alcohol and firearms mix.
A simple $5 beer, easily forgotten by most, nearly cost someone their life and has resulted in serious criminal charges for Gilbert.
