Stay Connected
Atlanta Black Star/Politics/National
NationalNews

Fed Up with AT&T Workers Parking On His Property, Fla. Man Decides Shooting at Their Trucks Is the Solution

Posted byBy Kiersten Willis | Published on: CommentsComments (0)

A Florida man claims he “went bananas” after he shot out the tires of AT&T workers’ trucks and has spurred outrage for bonding straight out of jail after the shooting.

Jorge Jove of Hialeah, Fla., was booked on multiple felony counts of aggravated assault with a firearm Wednesday, July 21, CBS Miami reported, after one of the AT&T workers taped him firing shots at two company trucks. Jove apparently became upset that they were parked on his driveway and didn’t leave quickly enough, and after police arrived, they said Jove fired at a worker in the truck’s bucket.

The 64-year-old retired firefighter told detectives “he went bananas and wanted to stop [the workers] from leaving,” according to a police report in which he confessed to firing up to 18 shots onto the trucks. A neighbor told a WPLG-TV reporter Jove is the “nicest man” and that he has complained about workers damaging his property in the past.

Jove bonded out of jail hours after his arrest Wednesday night without having to attend a hearing.

“It was a bondable offense,” Hialeah Police Department spokesman Sgt. Carl Zogby told CBS Miami. “It was our decision, our detective’s decision.”

If Jove is convicted of his felony charges, he faces up to 20 years in state jail.

In a statement to WPLG-TV reporter, AT&T said, “We’re grateful nobody was hurt, and we’re working with law enforcement in their investigation.”

Online, many sounded off on the matter, with several pointing out the racial implications of Jove’s circumstance.

https://twitter.com/Datexas/status/887992136943243264

https://twitter.com/ikvasager/status/888174982852878336

Independent journalism still matters.

We hope this story was worth your time. For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed Black-owned and independently run. We didn't get here by waiting on ad budgets that were never built to prioritize us. Our readers did that.

Corporate support for Black media has always been thin. Outlets like ours get roughly 1% of the $170 billion spent on U.S. advertising each year, and that margin is shrinking further as advertisers walk back the DEI-linked commitments they made in 2020. That's the backdrop. It's not why we're asking.

The wider picture isn't any steadier. Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under, it's rarely the ones built to center a Black perspective from the ground up that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Give once Give monthly Support another way

Related Stories

Back to top