Man accused of shooting at Seminole County deputies jailed

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — A Lake Mary man is in jail after he fired several shots at deputies who were checking on his welfare inside his Lake Mary home Friday night, and one deputy returned fire and wounded him, authorities said.

Deputies said they went to Jonathan Vitale’s home on Holbrook Circle Friday around 7 p.m. after he allegedly threatened to harm himself. Once inside, deputies said Vitale refused to listen to their commands, pointed a gun and fired several shots.

An unidentified deputy fired back, hitting the 35-year-old in the arm.

Vitale was taken to an area hospital and then to jail, where he sits Sunday night, charged with attempted homicide and felony assault. A judge ordered him held without bail a hearing Sunday morning.

Neighbors said they heard as many as five shots outside the home.

“They had blocked off this entrance with 12 cop cars. I started freaking out because I thought: What if it's my house?” Yasamin Vaziri said.

Vaziir told Eyewitness News she stood next to the suspect’s wife as deputies tried to get him surrender. The neighbor told Channel 9’s Cuthbert Langley the wife was “angry and scared.”

This appears to have been Vitale’s first arrest in Seminole County. Neighbors said he never caused any trouble in the neighborhood.

No one appeared to be at the home Sunday afternoon. An evidence marker was seen on the front door.

Neighbors are now trying to figure out why this happened.

“Just to know that's in your neighborhood, it hits close to home, so it's terrifying. You don't what's going on, what's happening,” Vaziri said.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating this deputy-involved shooting, per protocol. The name of the deputy who allegedly shot Vitale has not been released.

Cox Media Group