Father and teen son shot at innocent woman after neighbor delivered package, deputies say

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — Investigators said that a mistaken delivery set off a chain of events that resulted in a father and son charged with attempted murder for firing shots at an innocent woman.

>> Read more trending news

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd announced the charges in a news conference, which he began by saying, “Now what I’m about to tell you, you just cannot believe. This ranks among the craziest stuff that I have seen in a while — and I’ve seen a lot of crazy stuff.”

Judd said that at 7 a.m. on Oct. 15, a man woke up to find a package containing medication that had been misdelivered to his home. Wanting to be a good neighbor, the man took the package to the correct home, and put it outside the door.

The Ring doorbell on the home where the package was placed by the neighbor alerted the residents to a person outside the door. The homeowner, Gino Colonacosta, was inside with his 15-year-old son, Judd said, and upon seeing a person at the door, assumed that the person was attempting to break into the home.

Judd said that the 15-year-old grabbed a .45-caliber gun, while his father grabbed another .45-caliber gun, as well as a cane so that he could walk. The pair are then accused of going outside to search for the “burglar,” walking around the apartment building itself and the perimeter.

When Gino found a vehicle with tinted windows in the parking lot, he incorrectly assumed the person inside the car was a burglar and demanded they get out, WTVT reported.

In the car was a woman who was reading messages on her phone and “minding her own business,” Judd told reporters.

When she was approached by the Colonacostas, the woman believed she was being robbed and carjacked, and shifted the car into reverse, WFLA reported. At that point, Gino and his son are accused of firing shots at the woman, who shifted into drive and got away.

The two are accused of firing a total of seven shots at the woman.

“They shot at her seven times. She wasn’t hit,” Judd said. “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 driver’s seat of the car. Our victim was that close to death.”

There was no child in the car at the time.

The woman was not injured, and drove to a nearby gas station before calling the sheriff’s office, WTSP reported.

Both Colonacosta and his son were charged with multiple felonies, including attempted murder.

©2022 Cox Media Group