Instacart delivery workers shot at after going to the wrong address: Police

Police said they determined that no charges should be filed.

ByTeddy Grant ABCNews logo
Monday, April 24, 2023
Multiple recent shootings occur after innocent errors
Multiple recent shootings occur after innocent errorsThis disturbing trend of spontaneous gun violence should be no surprise. America, for a variety of reasons, culturally and because of interpretations of the Constitution, has embraced firearms like no other country on the planet.

SOUTHWEST RANCHES, Fla. -- A Florida man shot at a car with two people after they went to the wrong address trying to deliver an Instacart order, police said.

Waldes Thomas Jr., 19, and Diamond D'arville, 20, were attempting to deliver groceries on April 15 when they were on the phone with the customer trying to find the right address, according to a Davie Police Department report.

The two reportedly drove onto the property of Antonio Caccavale, 43, in Southwest Ranches, a town located around 30 miles northwest of Miami.

Caccavale told police he saw the vehicle on his property and told his teenage son to tell them to leave, according to the report.

His son called for help and when Caccavale approached the car, he said the driver was allegedly driving "erratically" and began running over logs, boulders and a fence on the property, Davie police said.

According to the police report, the homeowner said he feared for the safety of himself and his son after the car allegedly ran over his foot and he pulled out his handgun and shot several rounds toward the tires of the car.

The couple, Thomas and D'arville, told police they "attempted to reverse out of the area," but hit a boulder and Caccavale approached them aggressively and grabbed onto the driver door window, according to the report.

Thomas says he tried to leave the area and heard three close gunshots, according to the police report. The couple left the area following the shooting, police said.

Davie police ultimately found that no charges should be filed because "each party appear justified in their actions based on the circumstances they perceived."

But Broward County State Attorney Harold Pryor told ABC News in a statement his office's prosecutors will decide whether charges should be filed.

"I contacted the Davie Police Department to request a full investigation," Pryor said.

"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," Instacart told ABC News in a statement. "We have reached out to the shopper and will cooperate with law enforcement on any ongoing investigation."

The incident comes after several high-profile instances of people being shot at, and in some cases killed, after mistakenly going to the wrong address.

Ralph Yarl, a 16-year-old Black teenager, was shot on April 13 by a homeowner in Kansas City, Missouri, after he accidentally went to the wrong address to pick up his siblings, according to police.

Yarl was shot in the head and the arm, according to attorneys Lee Merritt and Ben Crump, who are representing Yarl's family.

Andrew Lester, 84, was charged with one count of felony assault in the first-degree and one felony count of armed criminal action in Yarl's shooting. He pleaded not guilty in Clay County on April 19.

In another incident, 20-year-old Kaylin Gillis was shot and killed on April 15 while in a car that mistakenly pulled into a driveway in rural upstate New York, authorities said.

A group of four young adults were looking for a friend's house in the area when they drove their car up the wrong driveway. They were turning around upon realizing their error when the homeowner -- identified as 65-year-old Kevin Monahan -- came outside with a gun and fired at their vehicle, according to Washington County Sheriff Jeffrey Murphy.

Monahan, who Murphy said has no known criminal history, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder. His attorney said, "[Monahan] had no idea who they were, what they were doing there. It was not a simple drive in, turn around, drive out, that's being portrayed again by the sheriff."

In another incident, two Texas cheerleaders were shot on April 18 after one of them said they had mistakenly got into the wrong car in a parking lot after practice, ABC affiliate in Houston KTRK reported.

One of the victims was treated and released at the scene and the second cheerleader was helicoptered to a hospital in critical condition, police said, according to KTRK.

According to police, Pedro Tello Rodriguez Jr., 25, has been charged with deadly conduct in the incident, a third-degree felony.

ABC News' Kiara Alfonseca, Marilyn Heck, Jason Volack and Morgan Winsor contributed to this report.

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