Probe ordered after Florida shooter fires at delivery driver

Florida shooter fires at delivery driver who made wrong turn; investigation ordered

By TERRY SPENCER

Associated Press

April 24, 2023 4:48 AM PT

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A Florida prosecutor has ordered an investigation into an incident in which a homeowner fired shots at a couple’s car when they mistakenly turned onto his property while making a late-night grocery delivery. Police had closed the case without consulting the state attorney’s office.

No one was injured by the gunfire in an upscale Fort Lauderdale suburb, but the incident was the latest in a spate of similar shootings across the U.S. in which people have mistakenly turned onto the wrong property or gotten in the wrong car. One person has been killed, and others were seriously wounded. In this case, the shooter told police that the car was being driven erratically, struck his leg and made him fear for himself and his son.

Broward County State Atty. Harold Pryor issued a statement saying police investigators never contacted his office about the April 15 shooting in Southwest Ranches that put at least two bullets into the car driven by 19-year-old Waldes Thomas Jr., who was with his 18-year-old girlfriend, Diamond Darville.

Pryor said his staff members were unaware of the shooting until they were contacted Friday by a reporter from WTVJ-TV, who interviewed the couple. The Davie Police Department has a contract with Southwest Ranches to provide service.

“I contacted the Davie Police Department to request a full investigation,” Pryor said Friday, adding that his prosecutors will decide whether charges should be filed.

Davie police declined to comment Sunday, but released the lead detective’s report. He wrote that, without any video, he couldn’t determine if either the shooter or couple committed a crime.

“Each party appeared justified in their actions based on the circumstances they perceived,” the report concluded.

The shooting happened on an unlit street in a semi-rural neighborhood at a home sitting on two acres.

According to the police report, Thomas and Darville got lost while delivering groceries for Instacart shortly before 10 p.m. They were on the phone with their customer when Thomas turned their 2014 Honda Civic into an area where the homeowner stored equipment for his excavation business. The address the couple were looking for was across the street.

The shooter and the couple gave investigators conflicting reports about what happened next.

The homeowner told officers that he asked his 12-year-old son to tell the driver to leave, but soon heard the boy yelling for help. The father said he saw the car driving erratically, banging into logs and boulders, so he told his son to run.

He said the car then drove toward him and ran over his foot. Saying he feared for his life and his son’s, the man drew his handgun and fired at the car’s tires, but it sped away. He then called police.

An officer found Thomas and Darville parked nearby. When he asked what happened, they replied, “We just got shot at.” He said Darville was crying and Thomas appeared “extremely nervous and scared.” The officer said there were two bullet holes in the car’s bumper and one tire was flat.

The couple told police they thought that they were at the right house, then tried to leave after the boy told them they weren’t. Thomas said he put the car into reverse and hit a boulder, which was when the shooter approached “aggressively.” That’s when Thomas said he heard shots and drove away. Darville said she saw the shooter pull his gun and fire.

“I said, ‘We got to go, we got to go,’” Darville told WTVJ. “I was scared — I’m not going to lie.”

The Associated Press is not naming the property resident because he hasn’t been charged with a crime. His phone rang unanswered, and he did not return a text message Sunday seeking comment.

Police said they returned the shooter’s gun after closing the case.