Ocala homeowner shot, killed after opening door

OCALA - A man was shot and killed at his home at 951 N.W. 59th Ave. at about 6 p.m. Sunday, according to the Marion County Sheriff's Office.

Marvin Travis Wilkinson, 45, was unconscious and not breathing when he was taken by ambulance to Munroe Regional Medical Center by Marion County Fire Rescue. He was pronounced dead at the hospital, said Peveeta Persaud, a Fire Rescue spokeswoman.

Wilkinson's wife told investigators that two men knocked on the home's door at about 6:10 p.m., and Wilkinson opened the door. He apparently noticed that at least one of the men had a gun and turned away, but he was shot in the back.

Wilkinson's wife, whose name was not available Sunday night, left the home through a window in the back of the house.

"It happened so quick, she was unable to get a complete description,'' said sheriff's crime scene supervisor Lt. Bill Sowder. Deputies searched the rural neighborhood off State Road 40, west of Interstate 75, on the ground and from the air.

By nightfall, the neighborhood, with its unlit limerock roads, was almost pitch black.

Joe VanHoose may be reached at joe.vanhoose@starbanner.com or at 867-4124.