Florida father and son shoot at harmless lady they thought tried to interrupt in house, sheriff says


A Florida father and his 15-year-old son had been arrested on tried homicide prices after they shot at a lady who they mistakenly believed was attempting to interrupt into their house, officers stated. 

Gino Colonacosta, 73, and his son opened fireplace Saturday morning after they received a Ring doorbell notification about somebody on the entrance door of their Winter Haven residence round 7 a.m. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd stated. 

That individual was a neighbor who obtained a medication supply for the Coloncostas at his house, and being “a Good Samaritan” he took the drugs and hung it on the Coloncosta’s entrance door, Judd stated.

However after receiving an alert from their Ring doorbell digital camera, the daddy and son exited their house armed with .45 caliber firearms trying to find an individual they suspected to be a burglar, in response to the sheriff’s workplace.

Almost 100 yards away, they discovered a lady sitting in a darkish coloured car with darkish home windows and the engine working, her cellphone, and focused her, Judd stated. 

“When she appears up and she or he sees Gino standing in the back of the car with a gun pointed at her, screaming for her to get out of the automobile, she thinks, ‘He’s about to carjack me, he’s about to rob me,’” Judd stated.

The girl threw her automobile into reverse in an try to again out of the best way, and crashed right into a automobile behind her within the frantic escape. 

The teenage son heard the commotion and neared the automobile and thought “our sufferer is attempting to again into him” and he opened fireplace, Judd stated.

Each Colonacosta and his son began taking pictures into the automobile as the girl sped away. 

They shot a complete of seven instances. The girl was not hit, and alerted the sheriff’s workplace. 

The investigation discovered that one of many bullets went via a child’s automobile seat and lodged into the driving force’s seat of the automobile. 

“Our sufferer was that near loss of life and positively had there been a child within the automobile seat, the infant would have been killed,” Judd stated.

The sheriff stated the incident ranks amongst “the craziest stuff that I’ve seen shortly.”

“Right here you’ve received these two guys, who’re manner out of line. Means uncontrolled. They don’t perceive the Florida legislation,” he stated. 

He famous that Florida has a “stand your floor legislation,” which permits an individual to make use of or threaten pressure to guard their house in the event that they really feel an individual is threatening them or is attempting to make forcible entry, however “that doesn’t imply you’ll be able to go search folks out and shoot them.”

“And information flash, even when the primary man would’ve been the housebreaking suspect, if he was, they shot the improper individual,” Judd stated.

The sheriff stated neither Colonacosta or his son had legal information till Saturday morning, including, “our aim is for them to go to jail. 

“You don’t shoot at folks. You don’t go away the safety of your private home and exit and chase folks down,” Judd stated in a pointy rebuke. 

Colonacosta was arrested on a cost of tried felony homicide with a weapon, improper exhibit of a firearm, negligence, discharging a firearm in public, dad or mum guardian permitting illegal possession, conspiracy, and contributing to delinquency, in response to reserving information. He is being held on no bond.

His son was arrested on a cost of tried felony homicide and different counts.

It isn’t instantly clear if Colonacosta or his son have a lawyer.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.