Central Florida defendant convicted in attempted murder case

A Central Florida defendant has been convicted in one count of attempted murder after shooting teenagers on an ATV.

This month, 66-year-old Michael Regalski was sentenced to 65 years in prison at the Florida Department of Corrections after jurors found him guilty in August.

Regalski was convicted of three counts of attempted second-degree murder with a firearm, one count of shooting at an occupied vehicle and one count of tampering with evidence. In the first case he was sentenced to 25 years, in the second case to 20 years and in the third case to 20 years in prison, which he served consecutively.

“Today’s sentencing reinforces the justice sought for the victims and their families involved in this case,” said Bill Gladson, United States Attorney for the Fifth Judicial Circuit. “The defendant’s dangerous actions in response to a minor annoyance led to a tragic and senseless act of violence that he will now have to reflect on for 65 years.”

The charges stem from an incident in April 2023 in which Citrus County Sheriff's Office officers responded to a call about a shooting.

When officers arrived on scene, they found an adult victim and two juvenile victims in an all-terrain vehicle (ATV). The victims said they were driving the vehicle in the area when they heard two loud noises and stopped because they thought the vehicle was malfunctioning.

When one of the youths was stopped, he stated that he felt pain in his lower abdomen and when he reached down, he immediately noticed that he was bleeding. CCSO officers and other medical first responders were able to stabilize the juvenile, who was then flown to a hospital for treatment.

CCSO Major Crimes Detective Roscoe Watts was on scene and began the investigation. During this time, he made contact with Regalski, whose home was south of where the incident occurred. According to Regalski, he had previously seen the ATV carrying the three victims drive past his property while he was in front of his garage. He said he had previously had problems with commercial vehicles driving noisily past his property at all hours of the night.

Regalski also admitted that the last time he saw the vehicle drive past his property, he fired his Glock 40-caliber handgun at the vehicle to stop the rides from passing his property. When asked what he did after shooting at the utility vehicle, Regalski stated that he secured his firearm before entering his apartment to wash his clothes and shower.

Then, after he showered, he told Detective Watts that he had viewed his home's video surveillance camera footage of the incident. He claimed nothing was captured on the footage, but still decided to delete the footage after viewing it.

Assistant District Attorneys Kaitlyn Mannis and Blake Shore prosecuted this case.