It took 15 years to sentence a now-80-year-old man to 10 years probation for a deadly and unresolved road rage case that claimed the life of a federal agent in Florida.
James Patrick Wonder took a no-contest plea deal in the case. He was sentenced on Sept. 28 on one count of manslaughter with a firearm for the 2008 slaying of 52-year-old Donald Pettit, an internal affairs agent with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, according to the Sun Sentinel.
The shooting took place on Aug. 5, 2008. According to Wonder’s testimony, he was driving in the South Florida community of Miramar that day when Pettit started following closely behind him. Wonder, who was 65 then, said Pettit thought he was driving too slowly. They both raised their middle fingers at each other before Pettit followed Wonder into the parking lot of a post office, got out of his car, and began yelling at him.
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Wonder’s lawyers claim that since Wonder was older and physically infirm, he feared for his life after being approached by a man in good physical shape. While Pettit left his gun in the car, Wonder, who had a permit to carry a concealed weapon, was armed.
Wonder shot Pettit in the head, then fled the scene and headed to a dialysis appointment. Wonder said he fired before Pettit could get close enough to make physical contact, but a medical expert testified that Pettit’s wounds were consistent with someone who was turning away and ducking as he was shot, the Sun Sentinel reports.
The shooting set off a massive manhunt involving 200 state and federal officers. They were finally able to catch up with Wonder a day later at a kidney dialysis center outside Plantation, Florida. Before authorities located Wonder, they discovered he had dyed his hair and rented a car.
The only witness to the shooting was Pettit’s 12-year-old daughter who said she only heard the gunshot, but didn’t see the shooting and was reluctant to testify.
Wonder was initially accused of murder, but a grand jury decided to charge him with manslaughter with a deadly weapon, which carried a maximum 15-year prison sentence.
Wonder’s attorneys attempted to use a “stand-your-ground” defense to have the case dismissed, but a Broward County judge rejected the claim. An appeals court upheld that decision.
It took so much time for the case to come to a close because prosecutors couldn’t gather sufficient evidence or witnesses to present a case that was incriminating enough to convict Wonder. Wonder’s poor health at the time of the shooting and in the years since also presented an issue with his sentencing terms.
However, both prosecutors and the defense were able to come to a resolution with a plea deal that allowed Wonder to serve probation with no jail time. If he violates the terms of his probation, he will go to prison.
“Mr. Wonder lived 65 years of his life without having any contact with the law,” Wonder’s lawyer, Frank Maister said. “In the 15 years since this incident, he has also had no contact … People forget that he was on his way to dialysis that morning, and he is still chained to a dialysis machine three days a week. There is no likelihood of him violating his probation.”
Neither Mr. Petitt’s wife nor his daughter have provided comment at this time.
