Background: The 2000 block of Clover Street Northeast in Palm Bay, Florida (Google Maps). Inset: Roman Rawicki (Brevard County Sheriff”s Office).
A Florida man purportedly assaulted a woman who accidentally wandered onto his property and subsequently fired shots at her and another individual as they fled.
Roman Rawicki, 50, is charged with multiple felonies, including two counts of attempted first-degree murder, false imprisonment, two counts of child neglect without serious injury, and criminal mischief exceeding $1,000.
He also faces misdemeanor charges of battery causing bodily injury, contributing to the delinquency or dependency of a minor or child, and discharging a firearm into a residential or public area.
The incident occurred on Sunday when an unnamed woman was navigating her way to another person’s home for the first time, as described in a probable cause affidavit for attempted murder filed by the City of Palm Bay Police Department. However, she seemingly got lost “and inadvertently ended up at Rawicki’s residence.”
She started walking down the driveway located on the 2000 block of Clover Street Northeast and soon “realized it was the incorrect address,” but by then, Rawicki had noticed her and allegedly began his assault.
“Rawicki was in the driveway and initiated a physical attack on [the woman],” the affidavit details. The suspect is said to have seized her “by the arm and wrist, forcibly holding her arm behind her back in an arm lock, against her will.”
The woman managed to call the person she was following “for help,” the affidavit says. When that person, who has not been identified by name, ran to Rawicki’s home, Rawicki allegedly “disengaged” the woman “by throwing her to the ground,” the affidavit states.
But that apparently wasn’t the end of the confrontation. Rawicki is said to have retreated inside his home, grabbed a gun, and then returned outside to fire it at the alleged victims’ vehicle. “As the two fled in the vehicle, they felt the vehicle be hit multiple times by projectiles,” the affidavit notes.
Rawicki – after being read his Miranda rights – reportedly told police he believed the woman was a prostitute when she approached him in the driveway and that he “attacked her out of fear for his wife’s safety.” He allegedly admitted to having shot at the two people – saying he was “in fear of his family’s safety.”
The suspect had also called 911 where he “confirmed he was the shooter advising that he has a ‘no soliciting’ sign,” the affidavit states, noting, however, that Rawicki “also expressed understanding that [the woman] was at the wrong house by mistake.”
Police officers reviewed video footage showing the woman approaching the home “in a non-threatening manner before the attack,” according to the court document. As the investigation continued, detectives learned more about Rawicki’s situation when the woman entered his driveway.
According to the probable cause affidavit for alleged child neglect, Rawicki was not alone when the woman walked up his driveway. His wife and children are believed to have been with him. The children were “afraid during the confrontation” and “were present when Rawicki began battering” the woman. When he allegedly started firing shots at the vehicle driving away, his children were in a vehicle “only a short distance” away.
The woman reportedly suffered bruises to her arm and wrist due to Rawicki attacking her, with a bracelet she was wearing being broken off in the altercation. Her vehicle was also damaged from the bullets, “sustaining a flat tire and bullet defects in bumper.”
Seventeen bullet casings were found near the roadway in front of Rawicki’s home, as well as the woman’s bracelet.
Rawicki could spend the rest of his life behind bars if he is convicted of the first-degree attempted murder charges against him. He had an initial appearance in court on Monday for the attempted murder charges, and then another two days later for the charges of child neglect. It is unclear when he is scheduled to return.
