Man accused of shooting at AT&T trucks told police he went 'bananas,' report says

Jorge Jove, 64, released on bond

HIALEAH, Fla. ā€“ A Hialeah man who is accused of shooting up two AT&T trucks Wednesday that were parked near his home told police that he went "bananas," an arrest report said.Ā 

Jorge Jove, 64, who is a retired firefighter, was released from jail at 2:25 a.m. Thursday after posting a $30,000 bond.

According to Hialeah police Sgt. Carl Zogby, AT&T trucks were hanging lines on utility poles on a residential street in the 600 block of Southeast Fifth Place when Jove got upset and told the workers to move away from his home.

An arrest report states that Jove was angry because he feared that the trucks would damage the pavers on his driveway, even though the trucks were parked in front of the driveway, not on it.

Zogby said the workers told Jove that they would move as soon as possible, but needed to finish their work first and that they were parked on a public street.

Authorities said Jove came out of his home about an hour after exchanging words with the workers and started shooting at the trucks with a Ruger .357 revolver.

According to the arrest report, the shooting happened after the workers had already moved their trucks easterly on Fifth Place while running a cable service above ground.

Cellphone video taken from one of the workers shows a man, believed to be Jove, shooting out the tires of the trucks.

"He flattened their tires. He shot into the bodies of the trucks. He shot out one of the radiators of the truck," Zogby said. "He seemed to be a quiet man, and something made him snap today."

A Hialeah police sergeant who responded to the scene said he witnessed Jove firing a shot at one of the workers who was elevated while working on a cable inside a bucket truck.

Police said Jove missed and the worker was not injured.

Authorities said Jove caused more than $1,000 in damage to the trucks. One truck had the passenger-side front and rear tires shot out. The other truck had bullet holes in all of its tires and a bullet hole in its radiator, the report said.

"We're grateful nobody was hurt, and we're working with law enforcement in their investigation," an AT&T spokeswoman said in an email to Local 10 News.

Authorities said police ordered Jove to drop his gun as they arrived, and Jove was taken into custody.

Detectives said Jove told them that he "went bananas" and wanted to stop the workers from leaving before police arrived.

Police said Jove denied shooting in the direction of the worker who was in the bucket truck or pointing his gun at any of the workers.

Jove was arrested on two counts of aggravated assault with a firearm and two counts of felony vandalism.


About the Authors:

Amanda Batchelor is the Digital Executive Producer for Local10.com.