UMATILLA, FL – On Wednesday, October 20, 2021, detectives with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) Major Crimes Division responded to 15980 SE 258th Avenue Road in reference to a reported shooting. Following their investigation, detectives arrested Cliffton Anthony Bliss Jr., 55, of Umatilla, and charged him with Second Degree Homicide.
Through their investigation, detectives learned that Bliss became angry when his neighbor’s cat had entered his property. He then retrieved a firearm and threatened to shoot the cat. The owner of the cat, James Arland Taylor Jr., 41, asked Bliss not to shoot the cat, at which time Bliss ”double tapped” his rifle shooting Taylor in the chest twice killing him. According to neighbors interviewed, Bliss had a history of confronting other people in the neighborhood about animal-related issues.
Bliss is being held in the Marion County Jail with no bond.
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