Antonio Caccavale: Probe ordered as South Florida man shoots at 2 Instacart delivery drivers who turned into wrong driveway
BROWARD COUNTY, FLORIDA: A Florida prosecutor has ordered an investigation into a late-night shooting where a homeowner fired several shots at a car with two people after they went to the wrong address while trying to deliver an Instacart order. Waldes Thomas Jr, 19, and his girlfriend Diamond D'arville, 18, were attempting to deliver some groceries on April 15 when they were on the phone with the customer looking for the correct location
While looking for the right address, the couple mistakenly entered Antonio Caccavale’s property in Southwest Ranches, a town located around 30 miles northwest of Miami. The 43-year-old Caccavale told officers that he saw the couple’s car on his property and asked his 12-year-old son to warn the people inside to leave. Just a few moments later, Caccavale heard his son calling for help and when he ran to his aid, he saw the driver was allegedly driving "erratically" and began running over logs, boulders, and a fence on the property, according to a Davie Police Department report.
READ MORE
Kaylin Gillis: Woman shot dead after entering wrong driveway while searching friend’s house
Ralph Yarl: Child prodigy shot in the head after going to the wrong house to pick up siblings
Caccavale told officers that when the car drove over his foot, he feared for his and his son's safety, and as a result, he pulled out his handgun and shot several rounds toward the car’s tires. However, Thomas and D'arville claimed that they "attempted to reverse out of the area," but hit a boulder when Caccavale ‘aggressively’ approached them and held onto the driver door window, according to ABC7. Thomas noted that he tried to leave the area and heard three close-range gunfire. The couple eventually left the area after the shooting.
'Each party appears justified in their actions'
Davie police reported that they noticed the back bumper of the car had two gunshot holes and the rear passenger tire was also flat, as per NPR. However, they didn’t find any video of the incident. In the end, Davie police concluded that no charges should be filed because "each party appears justified in their actions based on the circumstances they perceived." But Broward County State Attorney Harold Pryor told ABC News in a statement that the decision to press charges will be made by his office’s prosecutors. "I contacted the Davie Police Department to request a full investigation," Pryor said.
Pryor said the Davie Police Department closed the case without consulting the state attorney's office. Instacart also reflected on the incident and said in a statement that “The safety of the entire Instacart community is incredibly important to us, and we take immediate action when we receive reports of violence or threats of violence made against any member of the Instacart community. We have reached out to the shopper and will cooperate with law enforcement on any ongoing investigation."
Other similar incidents
The incident follows a number of high-profile occurrences in which individuals were shot and in some cases, murdered after mistakenly entering the wrong address. In Kansas City, a homeowner shot and injured Ralph Yarl, a 16-year-old Black teenager, after he accidentally went to the wrong address to pick up his siblings on April 13. In connection with the shooting of Yarl, Andrew Lester, 84, was charged with one felony crime of first-degree felony assault and another felony offense of armed criminal conduct.
In another case, investigators said that 20-year-old Kaylin Gillis was shot and murdered on April 15 when she and her three friends mistakenly drove their car to the Patterson Hill Road address. The group was turning around upon realizing their error when 65-year-old Kevin Monahan stepped outside with a revolver and fired at their car. Unfortunately, one of the shots fatally hit Gillis. Monahan was arrested following the incident and was charged with second-degree murder.