Brittany Bishop-Gillison (above in mugshot courtesy of Brevard County Sheriff’s Office) smiled while being booked for allegedly murdering her sister on Saturday.
A heated argument between two sisters turned deadly on Friday, according to deputies.
Brittany Bishop-Gillison, 30, is accused of shooting her 37-year-old sister Kapricia Bishop dead outside the mother of four’s Florida home, according to the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office.
Bishop-Gillison then smiled in her mugshot while being booked as the suspect in the crime, less than 12 hours after her sister’s death.
Inmate records show that deputies booked Bishop-Gillison into Brevard County Jail on Saturday after seeking a warrant for her arrest on a charge of first-degree murder.
Judge W. David Dugan signed off on a probable cause affidavit early Saturday, but reclassified the charge to murder with a firearm.
Deputies with the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a disturbance at a home in Merrit Island shortly after 3 p.m. on Friday.
Emergency responders declared the victim deceased at the scene from what appeared to be a gunshot wound, according to the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies then went about piecing together the events leading up to the shooting.
“Based on evidence collected and statements gathered during the investigation, agents believe that the shooting occurred during an argument between the sisters that began inside the residence,” Cmdr. Tod Goodyear of the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release. “As the argument continued outside, Bishop-Gillison armed herself with a firearm and discharged it, striking the victim and causing her death.”
Bishop has a lengthy criminal history, with arrests in 2011 (left, courtesy of Brevard County Sheriff’s Office) and 2019 (right, courtesy of Brevard County Sheriff’s Office)
According to the arrest affidavit, Bishop-Gillison, who is unemployed, is now being held on a $750,000 bond. Court records state that Bishop-Gillison is not permitted to return to the Merrit Island home if she is released.
Brevard County Circuit Court records show that a public defender has been assigned to represent Bishop-Gillison after the court determined the defendant to be indigent.
According to court documents, Bishop-Gillison made her first appearance in court on Sunday, and her arraignment is scheduled for April 21.
The defendant had a lengthy criminal history before her arrest over the weekend, but almost all of those arrests were for non-violent misdemeanors.
Brevard County Court records show that Bishop-Gillison has been arrested and charged with burglary, petit larceny, battery, resisting arrest, drug possession, and a lengthy list of criminal traffic infractions over the past 12 years.
A judge sentenced Bishop-Gillison to 42 days in jail after a 2012 arrest for petit larceny. According to the arrest affidavit:
[T]wo black females had been witnessed concealing several items while walking through the store. The females then left the store, passing all points of sale and making no attempts to pay for the concealed, items. The females were stopped by officers in the parking lot prior to them being able to depart the area. The females were identified as Britney Bishop and [redacted]. In the cart being pushed by Miss Bishop were several clothing items … While doing an inventory of Miss Bishop’s backpack a cigarette containing a green leafy substance was located. I tested the substance and it was positive for the presence of marijuana.
Social media posts suggest that the sisters were on good terms earlier in the week, with the Kapricia sharing a video and tagging Bishop-Gillison last Monday.
That post, like many on Kapricia’s Facebook page, featured her four children.
In her most recent post, shared just two days before her death, Kapricia wrote: “Yes I want to walk around heaven all day I’m not ready but yall have a blessed day.”
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