FORT PIERCE — Raybin J. Williams said he had to do what he had to do for gas money to make it back home.

That, police said, apparently included robbing a Waffle House with another man Monday and taking a couple of shots at someone who fired at him.

In the end, Williams, 24, and 22-year-old Corey Cooper, were arrested following the 3:10 a.m. stick-up of the Okeechobee Road eatery, according to records and a police spokeswoman.
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Tammy Wilson still has handguns for sale. But lately she’s had trouble keeping them in stock.

“Handguns are crazy right now,” said Wilson, manager of Express Huntin’ N Fishin’, a sportsman’s supply store in Sebastian. “A lot of them are on back order.”

The owners of many Treasure Coast gun and pawn shops say they’ve also seen a jump in gun sales, fueled by fears the new presidential administration will impose new regulations on gun ownership.

The economy is also a factor, as homeowners arm themselves against a perceived spike in home break-ins tied to the rising unemployment rate.

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STUART — A judge today convicted a 38-year-old Hobe Sound man on a weapons charge, just three months before his scheduled trial on accusation that he shot and killed a 19-year-old Stuart man during a January fight with another man.

Eric Wiley will face trial in February in connection with the death of Levi “Dwight” Starks, but on Tuesday Judge Sherwood Bauer convicted him on a single unrelated charge of possession of ammunition by a convicted felon at the end of a three-hour non-jury trial.

The charge usually carries a maximum 15-year sentence, but Assistant State Attorney Vicki Nichols on Monday filed paperwork seeking to have Wiley sentenced as a habitual offender, which means he could face up to 30 years in prison when he is sentenced in March.

Wiley was arrested in January after Starks died outside a Stuart duplex. According to court records, Wiley told Stuart police he was fighting with his sister’s boyfriend when the gun they were struggling over accidentally fired and a shot hit Starks. Starks was at the house visiting a friend and was not involved in the fight.
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