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A Florida judge revoked bail for a man who shot a teen driving an ATV near his home.
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Michael Regalski is facing charges of premeditated murder, aggravated assault, shooting into a vehicle, and tampering with evidence.
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Regalski said in court that he only wanted to scare the teens, according to the Citrus County Chronicle.
A 65-year-old man who shot a teenager for driving a utility vehicle on his property is no longer on the streets after a judge revoked his bail on Friday.
Citrus County Judge Joel Fritton revoked Michael Regalski’s bond after finding that Regalski met a Florida statute that requires his bond be denied, according to The Citrus County Chronicle. Regalski was free after previously paying a $65,000 bond, according to the paper.
Florida law says that people facing charges involving a “dangerous crime,” a felony that carries the life penalty, or a capital felony cannot receive bail.
Prosecutors say Regalski shot at three teens who were driving a utility vehicle near his home in Citrus Hills, Florida on April 22, hitting one of them in the stomach, the paper reported.
Regalski said during the hearing that he only wanted to scare the teens and that the shooting was an accident, according to the outlet.
He is facing charges of attempted premeditated murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, shooting into a vehicle, and tampering with evidence.
Assistant State Attorney Kaitlyn Mannis argued that Regalski’s actions showed a disregard for the safety of the community in court on Friday, The Chronicle reported.
Fritton said in his ruling that most people would put up no trespassing signs or call 911 if they did not want people driving ATVs on their property, according to the outlet.
“This wasn’t a life and death matter until Mr. Regalski made it one,” Fritton said in court.
A Citrus County Sheriff’s Detective, Rosco Watts, said during the hearing that Regalski’s story about the shooting was inconsistent and that he changed his clothes and wiped his home security camera footage after it happened, The Chronicle reported.
The Citrus Hills shooting follows a series of other shootings in which men opened fire on others for just walking or driving on or near their property in recent weeks.
On April 13, 85-year-old Andrew Lester shot Ralph Yarl, a 16-year-old Black teen when he accidentally went to Lester’s door to try and pick up his twin younger brothers in Kansas City, according to police.
Just two days after Yarl’s shooting, Kevin Monahan, 65, shot and killed 20-year-old Kaylin Gillis when she and her friends accidentally turned into Monohan’s driveway while looking for a friend’s house.
The same day as the Gillis shooting, a man in Florida shot at two teenagers who were delivering groceries for Instacart. Police ultimately chose not to charge the shooter in that case.
And then on April 18 in Elgin, Texas, police said 25-year-old Pedro Tello Rodriguez Jr. shot two cheerleaders who accidentally got into his car by mistake, seriously injuring them both.
Read the original article on Insider
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