A Central Florida defendant was sentenced in an attempted murder case after shooting juveniles riding on an ATV.
This month, 66-year-old Michael Regalski was sentenced to 65 years in the Florida Department of Corrections after jurors found him guilty back in August.
Regalski was convicted of three counts of Attempted Second Degree Murder with a Firearm, one count of Shooting at an Occupied Vehicle, and one count of Tampering with Physical Evidence. He was sentenced to 25 years on the first count, 20 years on the second, and 20 years on the third to be served consecutively.
“Today’s sentencing reaffirms the justice sought for the victims and their families involved in this case,” said Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney Bill Gladson. “The defendant’s dangerous actions in response to a minor annoyance led to a tragic and senseless act of violence that he will now have 65 years to reflect upon.”
The charges stem from an incident back in April of 2023, in which Citrus County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a call for service regarding a shooting that had occurred.
When officials arrived on scene, they located an adult victim, along with two juvenile victims on an All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV). The victims indicated they were riding on the vehicle in the area when they heard two loud noises and pulled over, thinking the vehicle was malfunctioning.
While stopped, one of the juveniles indicated they felt pain in their lower abdomen, and upon reaching down immediately observed they were bleeding. CCSO officials and other medical first responders were able to stabilize the juvenile, who was then airlifted to a hospital for treatment.
CCSO’s Major Crimes Detective Roscoe Watts responded to the scene to investigate. During this time, he made contact with Regalski, whose home was just south of where the incident occurred. According to Regalski, he had seen the ATV with the three victims pass by his property previously while he was outside his garage. He said he had prior issues with the utility vehicles passing by his property loudly at all hours of the night.
Regalski further admitted when he saw the vehicle passing by his property the last time, he fired his Glock 40-caliber handgun at the vehicle in an attempt to deter the rides from driving by his property. When questioned as to what he did after firing at the utility vehicle, Regalski stated he secured his firearm before entering his residence to wash his clothes and shower.
He then told Detective Watts after he showered, he viewed his home’s video surveillance camera footage of the incident. He claimed nothing was captured on the footage, but still decided to erase the footage after viewing it.
Assistant State Attorneys Kaitlyn Mannis and Blake Shore prosecuted this case.
