Florida man charged after he allegedly shot neighbor he mistook for a bear

In Naples, Florida, 25-year-old Ariel Gonzalez Rodriguez was charged with manslaughter after a March shooting that resulted in the death of his neighbor, Jason Sheffield. 

Rodriguez later told authorities that when his wife urged him to investigate sounds on their property around midnight, he believed a bear was making the noises.

What happened?

The confrontation began, investigators say, when Rodriguez's wife, Katherin Hidalgo, heard something during the night and thought a wild animal could be preying on the animals in the backyard, ABC News reported. 

Bears are present across wide stretches of Florida, including where this incident occurred.

After stepping outside with a smaller rifle, Rodriguez came back in and said he believed the noise might have been caused by a bear, the affidavit says. Good Morning America reported that investigators said he then took a larger rifle back outside.

His account to investigators was that he first discharged one round into the ground as a warning. He said he then heard the sound coming nearer and, thinking he was about to be attacked, fired another shot toward his neighbor's property at about waist level, according to the affidavit cited by ABC News.

He went back to bed after shooting his gun, and only later the next morning went back to search his property.

At about 8 a.m., after finding nothing on his own property, he searched his neighbor's, where investigators said he found Sheffield face down in thick vegetation near a chicken coop. Rodriguez then called 911.

Investigators explained in their arrest affidavit that, "Ariel was frantic as he informed the dispatcher that he shot off a gun yesterday at a noise he believed to be a bear, but now believed he accidentally shot his neighbor," per Good Morning America.

Rodriguez was detained after deputies arrived. Last week, he was charged with manslaughter with a firearm. The case will now move through the courts.

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