Authorities say Shawn Cyriacks was shot after trying to stop Matthew Pasco from killing dogs that had attacked a woman.
LEESBURG, Fla. — Witness statements from a wooded encampment near Griffin Road describe the minutes before a dog owner was fatally shot as a fast-moving confrontation that began in a tent and ended on a trail.
Those accounts now sit at the center of the first-degree murder case against Matthew Lee Pasco, 43, of Leesburg. Pasco is accused of killing Shawn Cyriacks, 36, on April 17 after Cyriacks tried to stop him from shooting dogs that had attacked Pasco’s wife.
The most detailed public account begins with a woman who told detectives she slept in Pasco’s tent the night before the shooting. She woke to the sound of another woman, identified in investigative accounts as Pasco’s wife, being attacked by dogs outside. Pasco left the tent to see what was happening, the witness said. He then came back, retrieved a black pistol with a laser attached to it and said he was going to kill the dogs. The witness said she followed him as he moved toward the area where the dogs and their owner were located. That path through the camp became the route from a reported dog bite to an alleged homicide.
Cyriacks stood in Pasco’s way, according to the witness account. Investigators said Cyriacks owned the dogs and was trying to stop Pasco from harming them. The affidavit says Cyriacks raised his arms in protest but did not make threatening statements or gestures. He told Pasco, “You’re not going to shoot the dogs.” Pasco allegedly answered with words that shifted the target of the confrontation from the animals to the man protecting them. Investigators said Pasco asked whether Cyriacks thought he would not shoot him too, then pointed the pistol at Cyriacks and fired into his chest. Deputies later described the shooting as deliberate and intentional.
The 911 call captured the scene changing in real time. The first emergency was the dog attack. A caller reported that a woman had been bitten by multiple dogs and was heading toward the road to flag down emergency medical workers. While the dispatcher was gathering details, screaming could be heard. Then the caller reported a gunshot wound. Deputies and emergency crews responded to the area around 1904 Griffin Road, near the Florida Health Lake County WIC Office. Cyriacks was treated at the scene and transported to Leesburg Regional Medical Center. He was pronounced dead at about 8:30 a.m., according to the probable cause account.
The woman bitten by the dogs gave detectives a narrower view of the shooting. She had been carried out of the woods with bleeding wounds before the gunfire. She told investigators she heard a pop and the sound of Cyriacks hitting the ground. She denied that Pasco was present. Investigators also spoke with another witness who said Pasco ran back to his tent after the shooting and left the area on a gray bicycle about five minutes later. The different witness accounts do not appear to change the core allegation from deputies, who say Pasco armed himself, confronted Cyriacks and shot him during a verbal argument.
Deputies searched the area after the shooting, but Pasco was not immediately found. A perimeter was established, and law enforcement used aviation, drones and K-9 units. The search moved the case beyond the camp and into the surrounding community. Carver Middle School was placed on lockdown during the response, then later dismissed. A nearby resident told a local television station that the helicopter and gunshot made the morning tense. The woman attacked by the dogs was hospitalized for several bites. Local reports also said one dog died and another was injured. The public record does not fully explain how the animals became involved or what happened to the surviving dog.
Pasco was later captured in Leesburg. Police said Leesburg Police Officer Kira Smith apprehended him on North Citrus Boulevard, and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office confirmed he was in custody. He was booked into the Lake County jail. By April 25, the case had moved to a grand jury. The Office of State Attorney Bill Gladson for the Fifth Judicial Circuit announced that jurors returned a true bill charging Pasco with first-degree murder with a firearm and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Prosecutors said Pasco possessed and discharged the firearm during the killing. Assistant State Attorney Nicholas Camuccio is prosecuting the case.
The indictment adds legal weight to witness descriptions of Pasco’s alleged statements. One witness said Pasco said if Cyriacks wanted to get in the way, he could die too. Investigators also said Pasco can be heard on the 911 call saying he was going to kill it. Prosecutors may use those statements to argue premeditation. Defense filings and arguments have not been detailed in the public summaries reviewed for this article. Pasco is presumed innocent unless convicted. The records also leave several factual questions open, including the full history between the men, whether they had prior disputes, the final handling of the dogs and the status of forensic testing on the firearm.
The location may matter as the case develops. The shooting occurred in a wooded area near a public health office, not inside a home or on a paved street. Witnesses described tents, a path and a trail where people converged during the dog attack. That layout may be used to show where Pasco allegedly retrieved the gun, where Cyriacks stood and how Pasco left afterward. It may also help explain why responders had to be guided toward the scene and why the search used aircraft and drones. For jurors, a map of the camp could become as important as the words witnesses say they heard.
The case’s next stage is procedural but important. Pasco remains jailed without bond at the Lake County Detention Facility. His next listed court date is May 18. Future hearings could address plea status, discovery, witness lists, physical evidence, 911 recordings and whether any bond issue will be revisited. The prosecution must prove the murder and firearm counts beyond a reasonable doubt. The defense will have the chance to challenge the state’s account, including witness reliability, intent and the role of the dog attack in the moments before the shooting.
The trail confrontation described by witnesses has become a pending murder prosecution. The next public step is scheduled for May 18 in Lake County court.
Author note: Last updated May 10, 2026.