Deputies say James Pelzer called 911 after the shooting and later told them he had “messed up bad.”

ESCAMBIA COUNTY, Fla. — A 64-year-old Pensacola man is accused of fatally shooting his stepdaughter April 19 after a brief kitchen dispute over moving past each other inside a Gulf Breeze Avenue home, authorities said.

James Pelzer was arrested on a second-degree murder charge in the death of Alanda Cuffee, 39, who was pronounced dead at the scene after being shot several times, according to deputies. The case drew attention because investigators said the deadly encounter followed a short exchange about whether Pelzer should have said “excuse me” while trying to get around Cuffee in the kitchen.

The first call came from Pelzer himself, investigators said. Deputies were sent about 10:30 a.m. to a home in the 2500 block of Gulf Breeze Avenue, near Gulf Beach Highway, after a shooting was reported. When they arrived, Pelzer was outside and surrendered without incident. Deputies said he was on or near the street as law enforcement moved in. Shortly after his arrest, Pelzer told deputies, “I messed up. I messed up bad,” according to the arrest report. He also told them the gun was inside the house near the front door. Sheriff Chip Simmons said the shooting grew out of “movement inside the house” and whether one person could pass another without bumping into them.

Inside the home, first responders found Cuffee on the floor, unconscious and unresponsive, in a pool of blood. She had been shot multiple times in different parts of her body, investigators said. Deputies said the weapon was recovered on top of a Bible near the front door. One report described it as a small black handgun. Authorities said Cuffee’s mother, Yvonne Pelzer, saw the shooting. She told investigators she and her daughter were in the kitchen when James Pelzer came in and tried to walk around Cuffee. Yvonne Pelzer told her daughter to move out of the way. Cuffee answered, “Well, Mama, he could say excuse me,” according to the arrest report.

Investigators said James Pelzer did not answer Cuffee. Instead, Yvonne Pelzer told deputies, he walked back to the bedroom and returned with a handgun. She said he fired about four to five rounds at Cuffee. Deputies have not said that Cuffee was armed, and the arrest report does not describe a physical fight before the gunfire. After the shooting, Yvonne Pelzer began praying out loud over her daughter, authorities said. James Pelzer told her to “be quiet,” according to investigators. The mother later told deputies that Pelzer had anger issues and had threatened to use his gun during other incidents. She also said he had not been physically violent toward her or Cuffee before the shooting.

The charge filed against Pelzer is second-degree murder, sometimes described in Florida records as murder with a depraved mind without premeditation. That charge does not require prosecutors to prove that a killing was planned in advance, but it does require proof of an act that showed a disregard for human life. Pelzer was booked into the Escambia County Jail and held without bond. Authorities said he declined to answer more questions after the shooting and asked for an attorney. A public defender was listed for him, and no detailed defense account had been made public in the first reports of the case. Court records showed an early court appearance was set for May 8.

The account from inside the home gave investigators a narrow timeline. Deputies said the argument did not begin as a long dispute. It centered on a small kitchen space, a request to move and Cuffee’s comment that Pelzer could have said “excuse me.” Simmons described the dispute in plain terms, saying it involved clearance to walk through the kitchen area. The sheriff’s summary matched the witness account given by Yvonne Pelzer and the physical evidence deputies said they found when they entered the home. The number of shots, the location of the body and the recovery of the firearm became central facts in the case, along with Pelzer’s reported statement to deputies moments after they arrived.

Family members identified Cuffee after the shooting, and a friend described her as a woman devoted to the people around her. “Alanda was selfless,” the friend said. “She loved her mother, loved her friends and loved her family.” Those words stood beside the stark account in the arrest report, which said Cuffee’s mother watched the shooting unfold at close range. The case also left neighbors and local officials with a crime scene inside a home on a residential stretch of Escambia County. Investigators did not report a broader threat to the public, and Pelzer was taken into custody at the scene.

The investigation remained focused on the moments before and after the shooting, including the 911 call, witness statements, the recovered gun and the statements Pelzer allegedly made outside the home. Prosecutors will decide how to present the case as it moves through court. Pelzer remained jailed without bond after his arrest.

Author note: Last updated May 10, 2026.