A bondsman shot and injured a woman who skipped bail. He won't be prosecuted.

A judge has dismissed the criminal charges against a bail bondsman who shot a woman he had been chasing for months.

Circuit Judge Robert Hodges wrote in his five-page ruling that the bail bondsman, Trini Lovosier Thomas, "is entitled to immunity." The reason: Prosecutors "failed to prove by clear and convincing evidence" that Thomas "was not placed in fear" by the woman before he shot at her in self defense.

The judge added that the bondsman's testimony — that he shot at the woman because he feared for his life and that of his co-worker — "was credible."

Thomas, 57, of Fruitland Park, had been charged with shoot at/within/or into a vehicle and aggravated battery with a firearm. This stemmed from a 2020 incident where he fired several shots at Natalia Daneshia Marie Gooden, hitting her. The woman's 4-year-son also was in the vehicle at the time. He was not hit or injured.

How the incident unfolded

According to information included in the judge's ruling, Thomas posted a bond for Gooden that allowed her out of jail. When Gooden failed to show up for court, a warrant was issued for her arrest. Thomas called the woman's mother and sister, but was unsuccessful in finding her.

Six months before the shooting, Thomas located Gooden. He tried apprehending her, but was thrown from a vehicle and injured. Gooden drove away.

On April 17, 2020, Thomas again found Gooden and followed her from Orlando to Ocala. Thomas told the court in a hearing held late last month that he tried calling law enforcement for assistance, but did not get anyone.

He followed Gooden's vehicle to a parking lot, got out of his vehicle, approached Gooden's vehicle, and knocked on the driver's side window. Gooden locked the doors and refused to get out, Thomas said.

Thomas used a sledgehammer to break the window. The sledgehammer did not hit Gooden, who backed out and hit Thomas' leg with her vehicle, according to the judge's ruling.

The vehicle ran over Thomas' foot and Gooden drove off.

Thomas fired several gunshots "because he was in fear of being hit by Gooden's car as she was trying to escape," according to the judge's ruling.

Thomas told the court he also was fearful for his co-worker, who was "in the path of Gooden's car." He stopped shooting "after Gooden drove away from him," the judge wrote.

At the time of the shooting, the Star-Banner reported Gooden was wounded in the left arm from the shooting. She spent five days in the hospital.

Gooden was then taken to the county jail. An Ocala police detective interviewed Gooden, who said her son had been in the back seat of the vehicle at the time of the incident.

Gooden's arrest record

When Gooden was booked into the jail after the shooting, she faced warrants from Sumter County for failure to appear for dealing in stolen property, theft from person 65 and older, and fraudulent use of person ID information. She also faced a probation violation for drug possession and giving false name to a law enforcement officer, as well as a custody order for driving while license suspended or revoked.

Gooden was released from jail in October 2020. She was picked up again in May 2021 for several Sumter County violation of probation charges. Last month, the 30-year-old Ocala woman was charged with driving while license suspended or revoked. She's presently out on a $2,000 bond.

Her next hearing is scheduled for early 2024. Court records show her lawyer is Shane Bachman.

A warrant was issued for Thomas' arrest not long after the shooting. He turned himself in at the Lake County Jail, court records indicate. His lawyer was Jeffrey Wiggs.

Shooting captured on video

The state has argued that Thomas could have called police and waited for them once he located Gooden. After all, she had outstanding warrants.

"While this would have been a wiser course of action, it was not required. A bondsman may legally apprehend a person who has jumped bail and is entitled to use reasonable force to effect the arrest," the judge wrote.

The original story: Ocala woman shot by bail bondsman now in jail

The incident was captured on video and it was shown in court. The judge said Thomas' testimony "was consistent with the videotaped evidence. That the Defendant did not shoot at Gooden until she started driving her car towards him is consistent with his testimony that he only shot at her because he was in fear of being hit by the car. The Defendant's fear that Gooden's car could have caused serious bodily injury to him, or his co-worker, was reasonable."

Contact Austin L. Miller at austin.miller@starbanner.com

This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Judge accepts bondsman's claim of self defense; no prosecution for shooting