(WINTER HAVEN, FL)– A father and his son are facing charges after they shot at a neighbor they believed was trying to burglarize their home.
The incident occurred on Saturday around 7:00 a.m. at an apartment complex on Cypress Gardens Road.
Officials say a neighbor received another neighbor’s package for prescription medication and decided to walk it over to their apartment.
When the neighbor placed the package at the door, the resident Gino Colonacosta, received a Ringdoor bell notification and assumed their apartment was about to be broken into.
Colonacosta and his 15-year-old son then armed themselves and went outside to search for the suspected burglar. The neighbor who dropped off the package, however, had already returned home.
During their search for a suspect, Colonacosta noticed a woman sitting in a dark-colored car with dark windows several yards away.
He then pointed his gun at her and demanded that she “get out of the car.”
The woman panicked and quickly backed out of the parking spot, hitting another vehicle.
As she began to drive away, the teen began firing at the car believing she was trying to run him over. Seeing the teen firing at the vehicle, Colonacosta opened fire on the car as well.
Officials say Colonacosta and his son fired a total of seven shots.
At least one of the bullets went through an empty car seat and became stuck in the driver’s seat.
The woman drove to an area Circle K where she contacted the police.
At the same time, Colonacosta and his son returned home and contacted the police to tell them what happened.
Colonacosta and his son were both arrested.
“They don’t understand the Florida law,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said. “In Florida, we have a wonderful castle doctrine law, we have a wonderful stand-your-ground law. That doesn’t mean you can go search people out and shoot them. That’s what they did.”
“They don’t understand the Florida law,” Judd said. “In Florida, we have a wonderful castle doctrine law, we have a wonderful stand-your-ground law. That doesn’t mean you can go search people out and shoot them. That’s what they did.”