16-year-old charged as an adult in Lewis Place shooting

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Peter L. Roman III, 16, has been charged as an adult with attempted homicide for allegedly shooting at a male at Lewis Place Apartments on August 7; he was also charged with possession of a firearm by an adjudicated delinquent.

At about 7:25 p.m. on August 7, Gainesville Police Department officers responded to a call about shots fired at Lewis Place Apartments (4121 NE 15th Street) and found two victims, one of whom had been grazed on the cheek.

The victims said they were standing outside Building 1 when they saw a white Nissan sedan drive into the parking lot; they said one person got out of the car (referred to below as the first witness) and walked toward them. They said the front-seat passenger was Roman, and they identified the driver and the back seat passenger (referred to below as the second witness).

The first victim said that he and the second victim walked toward the car with the intention of “going to smoke,” but the car drove away, and he saw Roman, also known as “P3,” leaning out of the front passenger-side window and then firing multiple rounds toward them from a handgun. He said a bullet grazed his cheek.

The second victim said he did not see the person who shot at them, but he confirmed that he knew the three males in the car at the time.

The first witness reportedly said the two victims were standing in the breezeway of an apartment building when they drove into the parking lot, and Roman told the first witness he “need[ed] to pick a side.” He said he saw Roman rack a gun, and he got out of the car. He said he saw Roman fire multiple rounds in the direction of the victims as the car left the parking lot; he also said that the three occupants of the car put on ski masks just before the shooting.

Another witness at the scene reportedly confirmed the identities of the car’s occupants.

Officers reportedly found six .45-caliber bullets near the front entrance of the apartment complex; they did not find any impacts to buildings or vehicles.

Surveillance video reportedly showed a black male leaning out of the front passenger-side window of the white sedan as the car drove out of the parking lot and then pointing the gun at the victims.

After the shooting, Roman and the driver reportedly made several phone calls to their respective parents, and they refused to return to the scene to speak with officers.

The second witness reportedly said he saw the first victim pull out a handgun with a purple laser and then point the gun at the sedan; he said the driver took a pistol from his waistband, racked the slide, and handed the pistol to Roman. The witness said the first victim returned his pistol to his waistband but continued walking toward the sedan, and Roman told the driver to “pull out,” so they began driving out of the parking lot. He said Roman started shooting from the passenger side of the car, and then they drove to Santa Fe Oaks Apartments (8203 NW 31st Avenue), where the sedan was later found by Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputies.

On August 11, Roman was interviewed, and post Miranda, he reportedly said that as the driver sped out of the apartment complex, he handed Roman a black Glock and told him to fire it. He said he aimed the pistol at the victims and fired multiple shots in their direction; he said they drove to Santa Fe Oaks Apartments, where the driver asked for his pistol back. He said he only shot the gun because the driver told him to.

Roman has been charged with attempted second-degree murder with a firearm and possession of a firearm by an adjudicated delinquent. According to court documents, he has an “extensive” juvenile history, including convictions for attempted burglary of an unoccupied vehicle and resisting an officer without violence. Judge Joy Danne set bail at $600,000, the amount set by Judge James Colaw in his order transferring Roman to the adult criminal court.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.