JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Two Hispanic men who were brutally assaulted in what appear to be targeted attacks at their homes in Countryside Village are suing the mobile home community's owner.
One of the victims told News4Jax on Friday that he didn’t think he would live to tell his story.
With multiple bullet wounds, several scars and his arm in a sling, Adelmo Maldonado is facing a long recovery.
Police said Maldonado, a native of Honduras, was grilling out on his porch around midnight Dec. 23 when he was approached by a masked man with a gun.
Investigators said the gunman demanded money, but as Maldonado reached for his wallet, he was shot five times, pistol-whipped and thrown to the ground.
“My country has [a lot of] violence, but I’ve never lived what I lived through here,” Maldonado said through a translator.
Maldonado's wife said she walked outside to find him in a pool of blood saying, “They killed me.”
Maldonado's attorney, Kelly Mathis, said the attack could have been avoided if adequate security measures had been in place in the gated community.
“They charge their residents a fee for security,” Mathis said. “They claim to provide security, but they really don’t. And because of that, these people were targeted.”
Mathis represents both victims, who are suing Countryside Village and its owners for negligence, claiming security systems, including cameras and entry gates, were not working properly.
Maldonado shared a message for the men who targeted him.
“Why would you do this?” he asked. “If it was the money they wanted, I would have given it to them. But they shouldn’t have hurt me, as it’s difficult for me to live.”
Maldonado said he can no longer work to provide for his family, and his life is permanently changed.
“They have made my family’s lives difficult,” Maldonado said. “My wife is traumatized, and then we have reached the other side, and we don’t have the funds right now for anything.”
The second victim is also recovering from his attack, which was reported in February, Mathis said.
The suspects in the attacks have not been caught.
The corporate owners of Countryside Village declined to comment about the lawsuit.