A Florida prosecutor has ordered an investigation after a homeowner fired shots into a couple’s car when they mistakenly turned onto his property after police closed the case without consulting the state attorney's office.
The incident occurred in Southwest Ranches, a town some 30 miles northwest of Miami when the couple making a late-night grocery delivery was shot at—fortunately, no one was injured.
Broward County State Attorney Harold Pryor said police investigators never contacted his office about the April 15 shooting. Pryor said he only got word of the shooting when his staff was contacted by a reporter from WTVJ-TV on Friday.
Conflicting Reports
Davie Police has since released the lead detective's report. It concluded that it was impossible to determine whether the shooter or the couple committed a crime without any video.“Each party appeared justified in their actions based on the circumstances they perceived,” the report stated.
What exactly happened that night remains unclear as the two parties gave conflicting reports to the police.
The couple, 19-year-old Waldes Thomas Jr. and his 18-year-old girlfriend, Diamond Darville, got lost while delivering groceries for Instacart around 10 p.m. on an unlit street in a semi-rural neighborhood.
The couple said they were on the phone with their customer trying to find the right address when Thomas drove onto the shooter’s property, near where he keeps equipment for his business. The address they were looking for was across the street.
The homeowner told police he asked his son to tell the driver to leave. He then heard his 12-year-old boy call for help. He saw the car driving “erratically,” banging into logs and boulders. He told his son to run.
According to the homeowner, the car then drove toward him and ran over his foot. He told police he feared for his life and his son's, drew his handgun, and fired three shots at the car's tires. He then called the police.
An officer found the couple in distress, parked nearby with a flat tire. According to his report, the boy was “extremely nervous and scared” and the girl was crying.
“We just got shot at,” they replied when the officer asked what had happened. The officer noticed two bullet holes in the car's bumper.
The couple told the police they assumed they had arrived at the right address when the boy told them they weren’t. Thomas said he decided to leave but hit a boulder when he reversed the car. According to the couple, the homeowner approached them in an aggressive manner.
At this point, they heard shots and sped away.
In an interview with WTVJ the girl said she saw the homeowner pull his gun and fire.
The property resident remains unnamed as long as there are no official charges.