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Parents of young shooter are sued

The victim's mother says the sentence - 18 months - was light, so she's taking the parents to court for negligence.

By JOHN FRANK
Published October 2, 2006

INVERNESS - Nearly two years after 13-year-old Johnny Masukevich was shot and killed by his 11-year-old neighbor, his mother, Michelle Hudak, still seeks resolution.

Antonio "Tony" Fernandez pleaded no contest to manslaughter after he told police about the deadly game the two Crystal River boys played on Oct. 3, 2004, when they allegedly took turns pointing the gun at each other and pulling the trigger.

Fernandez was sentenced to 18 months in a boys camp for juvenile offenders.

But for Hudak, the Oct. 27 sentencing came too quickly. She didn't have all the answers.

And the punishment wasn't enough. She felt like the boy's parents should pay, too.

On Thursday, just five days before the anniversary of her son's death, Hudak filed a lawsuit in Citrus County Circuit Court seeking damages in excess of $15,000 from Fernandez's parents under the Florida Wrongful Death Act.

"It's been bothering me for two years," said Hudak, who took back her maiden name after her divorce from David Ash earlier this year.

"We just feel like there was no justice ever done. He only got 18 months and nothing happened to the parents."

Fernandez told detectives he took the gun, which was owned by his father, Frank Grizzelli, from a locked safe in his home while his mother, Larzara Fernandez, was asleep in a another room. He said he knew the combination and could see at least one bullet in the cylinder of the gun.

Under Florida law, failing to keep a child from accessing a gun is a misdemeanor. If an unsecured firearm injures or kills someone, the gun's owner can be charged with a felony.

However, the law does not stipulate how guns must be secured in homes.

In Fernandez's case, no criminal charges were ever filed.

Nearly a year after the incident, Hudak said she was told by law enforcement that her son's fingerprints were not found on the gun or the safe where it was kept - disputing Fernandez's version that Masukevich opened the safe and also pulled the trigger once.

Hudak said she wasn't going to file a lawsuit, but was thinking about her lingering anger and loss when her attorney, Greg Jones of Inverness, called recently.

"We are looking to provide my client with some compensation for the tremendous loss of her son," Jones said. "This never should have happened."

The lawsuit claims that Fernandez's parents were negligent in making their home free of dangerous conditions, properly supervising their son and adequately securing the firearm.

It seeks damages for Hudak and her three daughters relating to the loss of Masukevich's future services, probable net income, the loss of his companionship, and the mental pain and suffering caused by his death.

The lawsuit also asks for reimbursement of medical and funeral expenses.

Jones and Hudak did not quantify how much money they would ask a jury for. "The damages to this family is immeasurable," he said.

But Hudak said, "It's not about the money at all."

She said she doesn't need it and would give it to her daughter.

By filing the lawsuit, she said, "I felt like I was doing something for Johnny."

"I'm hoping to try to find some answers," Hudak added. "I didn't even get an 'I'm sorry.' "

John Frank can be reached at jfrank@sptimes.com or 860-7312.

[Last modified October 1, 2006, 19:51:19]