Troubled Past: Mother of shooter who killed Charlotte County deputy claims he had “extreme mental illness”

Sergeant Elio Diaz was gunned down and killed by a 24-year-old from Georgia named Andrew (AJ) Mostyn. WINK News is learning that the shooter had a troubled past.

A quick scroll through social media will tell you Mostyn loved the outdoors. In fact, the majority of the pictures posted on his accounts show him hunting and having access to multiple guns. In a post from May, he claimed he just got out of the hospital and “still has some recovery to do.” It is unclear what he was in there for.

In a Facebook post written by his mother, Joy Pyle Dameron, she said, “No parent should ever have to feel this pain, it is unbearable and unbearable to type this out but, My oldest son, AJ, suffering from extreme mental illness, has passed away under horrible circumstances. We would appreciate your understanding for our privacy and would also appreciate your prayers.”

When digging into Mostyn’s criminal records, WINK News found in 2021, he got arrested for a DUI. He failed to submit the blood test.

In 2020, he was arrested with others for smoking weed. The case was dropped.

Mostyn was a missing person in Maryland in April after news reports said he vanished when visiting his grandma. He was later found in Pennsylvania.

Mostyn does have relatives who live in Englewood, FL. It’s unclear if he was staying with them. He also has ties to Orlando, FL.

WINK News has asked the sheriff’s office multiple questions on Mostyn including what type of gun was used, if the gun was legally obtained and if the Mostyn was under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

CCSO says they don’t have those answers right now.

WINK News has reached out to several family members of Mostyn and has not heard back.