MARION COUNTY, Fla. – A man is recovering after being shot on his own front porch, and deputies say they arrested a 17-year-old who is accused in the shooting.
Marion County deputies arrested 17-year-old Jeremy Pitts at Lake Weir High School on Nov. 14, just hours after the early-morning shooting at a home on Oak Lane.
Robert Ciampa said the shooting happened in the front yard of his home in Silver Springs Shores. Ciampa says his family heard a noise outside and when he went to open the door, he found a boy with a hoodie over his head and a mask on, and when he went to confront him, he was shot.
“It blew straight through my liver, and they had to remove my gallbladder,” he said.
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Ciampa says Pitts wasn’t a stranger. The teen lived nearby and had previously washed his car.
“I got a family of five here with my kids, and he knew that. He still shot me in my own yard,” he said.
According to the arrest affidavit, Pitts first claimed he was at his own home during the shooting. During his second interview, he later admitted going to Ciampa’s house looking for leftover marijuana. Ciampa says his marijuana is for medical use.
Pitts told deputies that when Ciampa came out, he hit him, but investigators noted he had no visible injuries. Ciampa insists he never touched the teen.
“I just chased after him. I didn’t touch him and couldn’t touch him because he was 6-7 feet ahead of me, and he turned around and said back up and shot me,” Ciampa said.
Ciampa said when he heard Pitts speak, he knew who he was.
Per the affidavit, Pitts told detectives that as he was running away, he took out the gun to scare the victim. However, it fired “accidentally” when his hand “slipped.”
However, Ciampa doesn’t believe that explanation, as he says he feared he wouldn’t survive the shooting.
“If it was an accident, you would have called the ambulance,” he said.
According to reports in the affidavit, Pitts was convicted in July of grand theft auto. For this recent incident, he is in juvenile detention facing multiple charges, including burglary of a dwelling while armed, aggravated battery with a firearm and possession of a firearm by a delinquent.
Ciampa said he hopes “for some justice.”
“He tried to take my life, so I hope the judge puts the book on his,” he said.
Despite the trauma, Ciampa said he is focused on his wife and children and grateful to still be alive.
“God is good. An angel was touching me when that bullet hit me,” he said.
Ciampa said he hopes life can return to normal for his family as his healing journey continues.
Pitts’ first arraignment is scheduled for late December.