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The circuit judge in the Ridgewood High student shooting case asks the help of school officials to start the program for high school students.
By Times staff writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published October 19, 2000
NEW PORT RICHEY -- The judge who sentenced 17-year-old Steven Moschella to 60 days in jail for a fatal shooting at Ridgewood High School last January has asked the Pasco County School District to help him establish a gun safety program for high school students.
Pasco-Pinellas Circuit Judge Craig C. Villanti on Wednesday talked with Superintendent John Long about his idea for a gun safety program. Long said he is behind the idea, but cautioned that's all it is right now -- an idea.
Villanti last week sentenced Moschella to 60 days in jail for his role in the accidental shooting of Teddy Niziol, 16. The shooting occurred as Niziol was driving Moschella and three other students away from the Ridgewood parking lot.
The students were passing around a stolen .22-caliber handgun when Moschella pulled the trigger, even though the weapon was pointed at the back of the driver's seat. The bullet tore through Niziol's back and punctured his lung. Niziol died minutes later in the parking lot.
As part of his sentence, Villanti ordered Moschella to speak at every Pasco high school about the danger of guns. Villanti said he would like Moschella to participate in the proposed safety program. The program also would include law enforcement officers and some basic gun safety information.
Villanti said he has, for a while, been thinking about the need for such a program and saw his sentencing of Moschella as a chance to put his idea into action.
"This is an opportunity to combine punishment with public service in an area that needs to be addressed," Villanti said. "It's a way of turning a negative into a positive."
Long said he has directed a member of his staff to work with Villanti and local law enforcement in the creation of the program.
"Under these circumstances, it's not a bad idea," Long said.