Insane Throttle News | October 30, 2026

A 31-year-old South Daytona man is charged with second-degree murder with a firearm after allegedly shooting and killing an acquaintance with a shotgun inside an apartment in the early morning hours of October 28, 2026. Justin Bryan was arrested the same day by South Daytona police and is being held without bond. The victim is identified in court documents as Rob Panayotis, also referred to as Robert Panayotis, age 45.

According to the arrest affidavit, four people—Bryan, Panayotis, and two women—spent the evening of October 27 together. They first met at Cozy Corner in Port Orange, then went to Mark’s Sports Bar in South Daytona. The group later went to an apartment at 2050 South Ridgewood Avenue. In the early morning of October 28, while in a bedroom, an argument started. Witnesses told investigators that Panayotis told Bryan, “this is why you don’t switch clubs,” a reference to motorcycle clubs. The comment made Bryan angry.

The affidavit states Bryan ordered Panayotis and one of the women to leave. He then retrieved a shotgun from a closet and pointed it at Panayotis. One of the women pushed the barrel away and told Bryan to shoot her instead if he was going to shoot someone. Bryan fired one round into the floor. As Panayotis gathered his belongings to leave, Bryan fired a second shot that struck Panayotis in the face, according to investigators. Police responded to a 911 call reporting that someone had been shot and found Panayotis on the floor near a bed with an apparent gunshot wound to the head. Spent shotgun shells were recovered both inside and outside the bedroom. Bryan was located in front of the apartment and detained.

Both witnesses present told investigators that Panayotis did not have a firearm, that no physical fight occurred between the two men before the shooting, and that Panayotis had not threatened Bryan. The affidavit references Panayotis’s alleged past motorcycle club associations. Two witnesses told investigators he had previously been a member of the Pagans Motorcycle Club and may have had earlier ties to the Outlaws Motorcycle Club. The document does not establish that the shooting was connected to any current motorcycle club dispute or active conflict between clubs. The phrase “switch clubs” is the only direct link provided in the affidavit between the argument and motorcycle club membership.

Bryan has a recent prior arrest tied to the local motorcycle event calendar. During Biketoberfest, he was charged with resisting an officer without violence after a disturbance. A deputy who was flagged down for the incident grabbed Bryan by the back of his shirt to stop him; Bryan pulled away and told the deputy not to grab him. He was scheduled to appear in court on that charge in early November.

The South Daytona case began as a homicide investigation after officers responded around 5:20 a.m. on October 28. Early public statements from police released limited details while the investigation was active. Court documents later filled in the sequence: a night of bars, a return to an apartment, a comment about switching clubs, a retrieved shotgun, a warning shot into the floor, and a fatal second shot as the other man was preparing to leave. Witnesses described no physical struggle and an unarmed victim.

For the local motorcycle scene, the case sits in a gray area. The affidavit notes past Pagans and possible Outlaws associations for the victim but stops short of claiming the killing was club-related. The trigger, according to the sworn statement, was a single spoken line about switching clubs that angered Bryan enough for him to arm himself. Whether that line referred to a real recent change in affiliation, an old one, or something else is not detailed in the available documents. What is detailed is the outcome: one man dead from a shotgun wound to the face inside an apartment, another man charged with second-degree murder and held without bond.

South Daytona police have asked anyone with additional information to contact them at (386) 322-3030. Bryan remains in the Volusia County jail. No trial date has been set. The affidavit’s account of the sequence—the clubs comment, the retrieved shotgun, the floor shot, and the fatal second round—will be the core of the prosecution’s case if the matter proceeds to trial.

• Is Shotgun Killing Tied To Pagan Motorcycle Club Comment
• Insane Throttle Weekly Wrap — Enforcement, Fallout, One Hub – Join The Weekly Newsletter
• HARLEY RIDERS AMONG THE WORSE PEOPLE YOU WILL MEET
• 105-Year-Old Buffalo Soldier Honored at Home by Motorcycle Club Riders
• Topeka’s Historic Harley-Davidson Dealership Shuts Down After Nearly 80 Years