BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — John Derossett, 65, is facing three counts of attempted first-degree murder of a law enforcement officer. A conviction on any one of those counts could mean life in prison.
Derossett wasn't well enough to see a judge Wednesday.
Before Derossett's appearance was waived, he sat handcuffed to a wheelchair. He's being held without bond.
Brevard County Sheriff's investigators said Derossett was injured when he opened fire on three sheriff's agents Thursday as they were trying to arrest his niece on a prostitution charge.
"He came out through the door and began firing on the officers," Major Tod Goodyear of the Sheriff's Office said.
Raw: Brevard deputy critical after shootout
Photos: Scene where officer was shot in Brevard County
According to court records, Derossett said he heard "a ruckus" at the front door. He said he thought his niece was in trouble, so he grabbed his gun and looked through the screen door where he saw three individuals in dark clothing.
"Did he ever say if he knew these were officers?" Channel 9's Melonie Holt asked Goodyear.
"As I said, I'm not going to get into any interview we had with him. That'll come out in court," Goodyear said.
According to investigators, Derossett told them he raised his gun and fired it in the air.
He said that's when he heard several shots and fired his gun back at the individuals who were shooting at him.
When it was over, Derossett was seriously injured and sheriff's agent Casey Smith was critically wounded.
According to investigators, agents were in the process of arresting Mary Ellyn Derossett when the shooting started.
Investigators said she had been arrested by two of those agents a month earlier on a prostitution charge.
Deputies said during the arrest Thursday she began yelling, "John, John."
That's when Derossett grabbed his Glock .40-caliber handgun.
One of the bullets that hit Smith entered the front of his vest between the liner and the ballistic panel, investigators said.
Investigators said Derossett told them he could have called 911 but that he had a right to defend his property and himself.