Gainesville man arrested for shooting at neighbor

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Jacob Star Shapiro, 49, was arrested yesterday and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after allegedly shooting twice at a neighbor.

At about 2:40 a.m. on Thursday, an Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy responded to a report of an armed disturbance in the 2600 block of SE 35th Street.

The victim reportedly said he had been in his yard with his dog when his dog began growling. He walked toward the street to investigate and reportedly saw Shapiro walking along the sidewalk, shining a light toward the victim’s property. The two men argued, and then Shapiro reportedly crossed the street toward his property. While walking away from the victim, Shapiro allegedly turned and shot at the victim twice; the victim said he heard impacts in the trees above and next to him. The victim said Shapiro went into his own home after the shooting.

The deputy reportedly found two spent .380 shell casings in front of Shapiro’s house, about 190 feet away from where the victim had been standing.

Post Miranda, Shapiro reportedly said the light coming from the victim’s house was “burning his skin and organs inside of him.” However, he agreed it was a normal light and said this is a “constant issue” with neighbors’ houses. He said he had been outside his house and that the victim was walking toward him but then turned around. He said he was in fear for his safety and shot two rounds at the victim to scare him.

The deputy reported that Shapiro was unable to describe any specific actions by the victim that scared him, and he said the victim didn’t have anything in his hands or any weapons. He also reportedly confirmed that the victim was already walking away from him when he shot at him. He said he put the gun in a drawer in his kitchen.

A search warrant for Shapiro’s house was granted, and the deputy reportedly found a live bullet on the floor of the kitchen and found a .380 handgun in a drawer in the kitchen.

Shapiro has one felony conviction (violent). He was previously found incompetent to stand trial in a 2019 case. Judge Susan Miller-Jones ordered him held without bail pending a hearing on a motion from the State Attorney’s Office to hold him without bail until trial.

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.