Father, Son Shoot At Car After Neighbor Drops Off Package In Polk Co.

WINTER HAVEN, FL — It all started with a package that was delivered to the wrong door and ended with gunfire and the arrest of a father and his 15-year-old son.

"What I'm going to tell you, you absolutely could not believe," Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said at a news conference. "This ranks among the craziest stuff I've seen in a while, and I've seen a lot of crazy stuff."

On Saturday around 7 a.m., a resident of the Arbours at Garden Grove apartments at 4900 Cypress Gardens Road in Winter Haven walked out of his apartment and saw a package meant for another resident of the apartment complex, 73-year-old Gino Colonacosta, had been delivered to his door by mistake.

"So, our witness, being a good Samaritan, a good neighbor, doing what any one of us would have, went down to the Colonacostas and hung the package on the door, and then left," Judd said.

The Colonacostas' apartment is equipped with a Ring video security system and, inside the apartment, Colonacosta and his 15-year-old son both received alerts on their cell phones from Ring indicating that someone was at the door.

"They think they're being broken into. Are you kidding me? The dude is being a good neighbor," Judd said.

The father and son each grabbed a 45-caliber handgun and went out looking for a burglar that didn't exist, Judd said.

About 100 yards from their apartment, they spotted a dark-colored car with dark window tinting and the motor running.

Inside was a woman who was checking her cell phone messages, "minding her own business," Judd said.

"She looks up and sees Gino standing at the back of her vehicle with a gun pointed at her, screaming for her to get out of the car," Judd said.

Thinking she was being carjacked, the woman put her car into reverse and backed into another car.

The 15-year-old said he thought she was trying to hit him with her car and opened fire, shooting five bullets into the car, while his father shots two more bullets.

The frightened woman put her car into drive and sped away.

"During our investigation, we learned that one of the bullets, even though it didn't hit her, went through the baby's car seat and lodged in the back of the driver's seat of the car," Judd said. "Our victim was that close to death. And if there'd been a baby in the car seat, it certainly would have been killed."

Judd said neither Colonacosta has a criminal history, but that changed Saturday.

In addition to other charges, they've both been charged with felony attempted murder.

"In Florida, we have a wonderful castle doctrine law, a wonderful stand-your-ground law," Judd said. "That doesn't mean you can go search people out and shoot them. That's what they did. What were they thinking? Anybody who walks up to their door gets shot. You don't leave the security of your home and chase people down and shoot them."