Man charged after fatally shooting neighbor he allegedly mistook for bear
A man has been charged with manslaughter months after he allegedly shot and killed his neighbor, mistaking him for a bear, according to an arrest affidavit.
Ariel Gonzalez Rodriguez, 25, was charged on Tuesday for the March killing of his neighbor Jason Sheffield in Naples, Florida.
Rodriguez's wife, Katherin Hidalgo, told investigators that she heard a noise around midnight and was worried a wild animal was attacking the farm animals she has in her backyard, so she woke her husband up to investigate, according to the affidavit.
After leaving the house with a smaller caliber rifle, Rodriguez -- who was 24 at the time -- returned to tell his wife he believed it may have been a bear, before retrieving a larger caliber rifle, according to the affidavit.
Bears can be found almost anywhere in Florida, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
An attorney for Rodriguez said the neighbor's family is living through "what no family should have to."
"A man lost his life, and his family is living through something no family should have to. No decision has been made by a jury or judge as to my client's guilt. My client is presumed innocent, and that presumption applies today exactly as it did yesterday. We'll do our work where it belongs, in the courtroom. That's all I'm going to say while this case is pending," Evan Pfeifer, an attorney for Rodriguez, said in a statement to ABC News.
Rodriguez told investigators he fired a single round from the larger rifle to the ground. Rodriguez then alleged he believed the noise was walking closer and that he was about to be attacked, prompting him to shoot a round in the direction of his neighbor's property at about waist level, according to the affidavit.
Hidalgo told investigators she heard at least two gunshots before her husband returned to the residence, according to the affidavit.
Hidalgo told investigators that Rodriguez told her whatever was making the noise -- which he believed might have been a bear -- began approaching him, so he shot off a "couple of warning shots," according to the affidavit.
"According to Katherin, Ariel did not further investigate because he feared he might have wounded the bear and did not want to risk getting attacked. He told Katherin he would go check in the morning," the affidavit said.
Around 8 a.m. the next day, Rodriguez explored his property but did not see anything. He then proceeded to explore his neighbor's property, where he discovered his neighbor lying face down with blood on his body, according to the affidavit.
In the morning, Rodriguez told his wife he had shot someone before dialing 911, according to the affidavit.
Rodriguez dialed 911 and stayed on the phone with dispatchers until deputies arrived. Rodriguez was brought in on the charge of manslaughter with a firearm, according to the affidavit.
"Ariel was frantic as he informed the dispatcher that he shot off a gun yesterday at a noise he believed to be a bear, but now believed he accidentally shot his neighbor," investigators wrote in an arrest affidavit.
When officers responded to the scene, Rodriguez and his wife were handcuffed, detained and placed in the back of separate patrol vehicles, according to the affidavit.
Investigators found the neighbor dead, lying face down in an overgrown patch of vegetation behind a chicken coop. He appeared to have blood on the back of his shirt, according to the affidavit.
