Lake Wales man guilty of attempted second-degree murder after shooting at truck

JURY VERDICT: Lake Wales man guilty of attempted second-degree murder after shooting at truck

Robert Daniel was driving to work when he saw a man in a black corvette pull up beside him and fire three shots into his vehicle.

John Decesare, 74, of Lake Wales.

After 25 minutes of deliberation, a jury found John Decesare, 74, guilty July 12 of attempted second-degree murder, shooting into an occupied vehicle and discharging a firearm from a vehicle. Decesare faces a minimum of 20 years for attempted second-degree murder and will be sentenced August 25.

Assistant State Attorney Randi Daugustinis walked jurors through the chain of events on Nov. 4, 2014.

Daniel left his house before 6 a.m. that morning and was driving on rural roads to get to his job in Lake Wales. About 6:15, Daniel looked in his rear view mirror to see a vehicle approaching him from behind, which was odd to him as it is uncommon to see traffic in rural areas.

He watched as a black corvette pulled into the left lane, and Daniel assumed the driver would pass him, which was common when he drove his work truck. He let off the gas to allow the corvette to pass.

“I noticed after I let off the throttle, the car was still next to me,” Daniel said from the witness stand. “It stayed with me even as I was slowing down.”

That was when Daniel heard a gunshot and felt an impact on the driver’s side door. He leaned to the right to avoid getting struck and heard two more shots go off as he hit the brakes and pulled off of the road.

Daniel was not injured in the shooting.

“I was confused and shocked. It was something I’d never experienced before,” Daniel told jurors, adding that he was unable to see the driver of the corvette. “I have no idea who would’ve been shooting at me. I couldn’t think of any enemies.”

Assistant State Attorney Randi Daugustinis addresses jurors during closing arguments July 12. Decesare was found guilty as charged after only 25 minutes of deliberation.

When law enforcement arrived on scene, Daniel told them he’d never seen the black corvette before. But he did tell them it
wasn’t uncommon for him to have incidents with a motorcycle rider in the early mornings when he drove to work.

The man, who rode a black motorcycle with three headlights, would ride alongside his work truck, pull in front of him and slow down. He never spoke to the rider or antagonized him in any way, but he continued encountering the man on his way to work.

Daniel recalled seeing the rider enter the same housing community he lived in.

A PCSO deputy who’d been patrolling the area for 18 years had an idea of who the rider was, based off the description Daniel had given off the motorcycle. Decesare would make small talk with the deputy over the years when the two would cross paths during breakfast at Perkins, often chatting about his motorcycle.

When the deputy saw Decesare riding his motorcycle that day, he stopped him and asked to search the bike. Decesare cooperated with deputies, who found a handgun and magazine with ammunition in one of the locked saddle bags.

FDLE testing proved that the bullet holes and projectiles from Daniel’s truck matched the firearm deputies found in Decesare’s motorcycle.

When questioned, Decesare admitted he was involved in the shooting. He told deputies he was driving his corvette, and the other driver was in a truck.

Decesare told deputies in a taped statement that he felt the truck driver was tormenting him each time they crossed paths while he was on his bike.

“I got sick of it,” Decesare said in the statement. “I thought I’d just scare him off, put a couple bullets in his fender, teach him a lesson. … I didn’t shoot to kill him.”

Daugustinis reminded jurors that Decesare’s actions proved otherwise.

“It is an evil intent to scare someone by firing multiple rounds into their vehicle. It shows an indifference to human life,” she said in closing arguments. “The rounds were aimed at the door. He knew there was a person on the other side of that door.”

The defense argued that Decesare meant to shoot at the front of the vehicle but struggled with aim while driving fast and steering with just one hand – that although he went about it the wrong way, his intent was to scare the man and not hurt him.

“Why fire at least three rounds if you’re just trying to scare someone?” Daugustinis asked the jurors. “It’s just not reasonable to believe. He was intentionally shooting at driver side door knowing there was a driver on the other side of that door. … The defendant’s actions and intent that day showed ill will, hatred, spite and evil intent.”