DoorDash driver shot at, West Bend man charged
John Norman
WEST BEND, Wis. - A West Bend man is charged with first-degree recklessly endangering safety after he allegedly fired a shotgun at a delivery driver on Wednesday night, Feb. 16.
Prosecutors have also charged the man, 32-year-old John Norman, with felony bail jumping.
Washington County sheriff's deputies were called to the town of Barton scene after it was reported that a DoorDash employee was delivering food when the front door of the home shattered in her face. The door appeared to have been damaged by a gunshot. Deputies noted a large hole and pieces of the door scattered outside.
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Responding deputies announced themselves and asked Norman to come out with his hands up. According to a criminal complaint, Norman at first refused and told the deputies to come inside. Eventually, Norman came out and deputies noted his eyes were "severely bloodshot," he was slurring his words and he was unbalanced while walking. He smelled strongly of intoxicants, the complaint states.
While seated in a squad car, the complaint states Norman asked if the deputies would drive him to Kwik Trip because he "could really go for a cigarette." After multiple denials of that request, Norman allegedly said "just DoorDash it to your squad" – he had ordered pizza via DoorDash earlier. Norman also failed field sobriety tests.
The complaint states a search of the residence found a 12-gauge shotgun on the floor in front of a couch. Atop the couch was a spent shotgun shell and a cellphone. Elsewhere inside the home, detectives found an empty glock case, shotgun wadding, more shotgun shells, a loaded glock, magazines, ammunition and empty gun cases.
Victim's statements
The victim, a 46-year-old woman who had had the job for about a year, informed detectives that the person who orders does not know who will be delivering their food. In this case, she was delivering Little Caesars. Between the time "Jack N" placed the order and her arrival at the home, roughly an hour and 20 minutes had passed, per the complaint.
Through the DoorDash delivery app, the victim stated, the customer can track where the driver is with the order. She pulled into the driveway and hit "arrive" on the app to alert the customer that she was there with the food. The delivery instructions stated to leave the food at the doorstep, meaning to just set it down and not ring the bell or knock – which is what she planned to do.
The victim told detectives that when she arrived, all the lights were off, and it appeared nobody was home. As she got closer, she noticed a "glow from a TV" and assumed someone was watching a movie and had ordered pizza. The complaint states, as she lifted her foot toward the front step, the front door "exploded" and she screamed – throwing the food and running back to her car. She called 911 as she backed out of the driveway.
After the "explosion," the victim said she saw a hole in the door. She said she never heard anyone as she walked up and while backing out of the driveway, but saw a red light coming through the window "like a red beam, so I was thinking ‘that’s a gun.'" The complaint states she saw someone come outside and pick up the food. The victim said she felt as though Norman was "sitting there just waiting for her."
The complaint states the victim had shards of glass "all over her hair" and in her clothing.
Suspect's statements, history
In a Mirandized interview, the complaint states Norman told detectives that his shotgun "accidentally discharged" at the time but did not know how. When asked about specific details, Norman allegedly said, "You saw what happened to the house, you can figure it out."
Court documents state Norman was out on bond for a 2021 incident – operating while intoxicated (third offense) and second-degree recklessly endangering safety. A condition of his release was absolute sobriety. An evidentiary blood draw was taken as evidence in the shots-fired incident. The results are pending.
Norman made an initial court appearance for the shots-fired incident on Feb. 18. He is due back in court on March 23.
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