Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Violent years preceded child's shooting

The domestic turbulence that authorities say culminated in the wounding of a 5-year-old was nothing new to the couple or officials.

By JUSTIN GEORGE
Published April 22, 2005

INVERNESS - Discord between Justin Brown and his girlfriend Heather Gagliano has been simmering on and off for years, court records show.

She filed a petition seeking child support from him a few years ago, only to refile it again this month. She asked for a restraining order against him last year, only to ask a judge to dismiss it a month later.

People near Gagliano's neighborhood have seen the seesaw relationship firsthand. They say the couple's arguments would drag from Gagliano's Heron Woods' homes into the streets. Witnesses said they've seen literal stop-and-go fights where Brown would be in Gagliano's red Pontiac Sunfire one instant, kicked out the next, only to be invited in again.

The relationship grew violent again Wednesday, authorities say, when Brown, 25, pointed his .38-caliber handgun at Gagliano's car after an argument.

A bullet ripped through the trunk and into the couple's 5-year-old daughter, Jaonaa Brown, piercing her left shoulder before it stopped at her wrist.

Jaonaa was still in All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg on Thursday. Her condition was not released, at the family's request. A woman who answered the phone in Jaonaa's room declined to comment.

Justin Brown, who has been arrested several times in Citrus and Marion counties, was held at the Citrus County jail without bail. He was arrested on charges of possession of a firearm by a felon and shooting into an occupied conveyance or car. He appeared in court Thursday and is scheduled for arraignment on May 9.

There are several conflicting stories as to what happened Wednesday. It seems Gagliano and Brown, who have two other children together, were headed to an Inverness pharmacy from Gagliano's home, according to arrest records.

During a first interview, Brown told detectives the gun fired accidentally while he was putting a backpack into the trunk. But detectives saw inconsistencies with the story.

They again interviewed Brown, who said he had gotten in an argument with his girlfriend, packed up his belongings at her home and began walking out when she followed him to nearby Russell Avenue. The couple continued arguing and she tried to hit him with her car, he said.

When he hit the ground, Brown's automatic handgun fell out of his waistband and fired. Detectives didn't buy that story either, saying the bullet's trajectory was implausible.

Brown changed his story again, records show, and he told investigators that Gagliano, 24, hit him with her car. He jumped up, grabbed his gun and pointed it in the direction of the car. It went off accidentally.

Later, he added that he had waved the gun at her in an attempt to stop the car from hitting him again.

Five years ago, Brown faced domestic battery charges. In February 2000, court records show, Brown hit Gagliano in the back of her head, causing her to fall. He also grabbed her left arm and shoved her after an argument. He grabbed 3-month-old Jaonaa from Gagliano and left a large scratch on his girlfriend's neck, according to records.

He didn't contest the charges and was placed on probation.

In 2003, Gagliano sought child support from Brown. He was ordered to pay $171 per month but had the order suspended until he proved he wasn't receiving public assistance. A judge later dismissed the case.

Last year, Gagliano asked a judge for a restraining order against Brown. In court records, she wrote that she got into an argument with him on May 22. She was driving him home when she grew upset that he was calling other women.

"He grabbed my right arm and twisted it back up toward my head until it popped four or five times," Gagliano wrote in court records. "I told him he was gonna need to get out of my car. He said no, he would get out when I took them back to his house."

She did. A day later she checked herself into Citrus Memorial Hospital.

"This is not the first time this has happened. . . . We always end up arguing and I get hurt. He has three other little girls with three other women, and he is constantly moving from girl to girl," Gagliano wrote.

"I am afraid that in one of his rages," Gagliano said, "he may hit my child on accident while hitting me, and I can't take that risk. All I want is to be able to feel safe that nothing will happen to me or my children anymore.

"They do not need to grow up around this violence."

Gagliano received the restraining order.

But the seesaw continued: She asked a judge to dismiss it a month later.

This month, Gagliano asked a judge to reinstate her child support claim. On April 12, the state and Gagliano sued Brown, asking for money.

Times staff writer Alex Leary and researcher Carolyn Edds contributed to this report. Justin George can be reached at 352 860-7309 or jgeorge@sptimes.com

[Last modified April 22, 2005, 18:30:17]