Alachua man arrested for shooting neighbor

Staff report

ALACHUA, Fla. – Richard Caban, 49, was arrested yesterday and charged with shooting his neighbor in March.

At about 9:05 a.m. on March 4, an Alachua Police Department officer responded to a call about a person who was shot in the neighborhood southeast of the Alachua library branch. The officer determined that Caban shot his neighbor and then drove away; he was later pulled over and arrested. Meanwhile, the victim was transported to a local hospital and treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

The officer reported that the incident began when Caban removed his basketball goal from the street; the basketball goal was used by a number of children who live on the street, including the victim’s children. The victim said he went to Caban’s home to ask what happened to the basketball goal, spoke with Caban’s fiancé, and went back to his own property.

Post Miranda, Caban reportedly said he heard that the victim had spoken to his fiancé, and when he got home from work, he went to the victim’s property to confront him; he said he was standing on the edge of the roadway in front of his own home when he tried to speak to the victim, but the victim “came at” him and hit him twice, leaving him “dazed.” He said he pushed the victim back to create space, but the victim came toward him again, so he brandished his gun and shot the victim once in the leg. He said he went back to his own home, put the gun away, and left in his vehicle; the officer noted that Caban did not call 911 to get medical help for the victim.

Due to the conflicting accounts, Caban was initially released from custody pending further investigation into whether the shooting was justified as self-defense.

During the investigation, an independent witness reportedly said he saw Caban standing about 15 feet inside the victim’s front yard, about five feet away from the victim; he said the victim had his hands up and was not moving toward Caban. He said Caban brandished his gun and shot the victim once in the leg before leaving. The witness said Caban was standing 7-10 feet inside the victim’s property when he shot the gun and that the bullet went through the victim’s leg and landed near other members of the victim’s family, including two children.

The officer reported that the victim’s story was similar to the witness’s account: the victim reportedly said he never hit Caban, but he pushed him after telling him to leave his property and not come back. He said that when Caban ignored his demand to leave his property, he approached Caban and confronted him to keep him away from his family members, who were sitting outside the victim’s house. The victim said that after he pushed Caban, Caban backed up and drew his firearm; the victim said he raised his hands and asked Caban if he was going to shoot him on his own property, and Caban disengaged the gun’s safety and shot with a two-handed grip, hitting him in the leg.

The officer concluded that Caban did not have permission to be on the victim’s property and was warned multiple times to leave; he wrote that, according to the victim and the witness, Caban entered the victim’s property against the wishes of the victim and stayed there. The officer concluded that because Caban “was not in [a] place where he should have been,” he was not being attacked, and the victim was not approaching him, Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law did not apply.

Caban has been charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. He has one misdemeanor conviction (non-violent). Judge Mitchell Bishop ordered him held without bail pending a hearing on a motion from the State Attorney’s office to hold him without bail until trial; if the judge denies the motion, bail will be set at that hearing.

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.