Man accused of throwing punch that led to Gardens mall shooting
PALM BEACH GARDENS — A West Palm Beach man involved in a shooting Friday at The Gardens Mall is facing a misdemeanor battery charge, Palm Beach Gar- dens police said.
Jamel Mechon Roseau, 21, allegedly initiated the incident by punching Dimitri Andrew Virginia in the head outside the entrance to the mall’s food court. Police referred to the punch as an “unprovoked attack.”
Virginia, who was accom- panied by his mother, then chased Roseau into the mall’s parking lot, retrieved a gun from his vehicle and fired 14 shots into Roseau’s 2014 Audi A4 as it pulled away in the lot, according to an arrest report. Eight bullets struck the vehicle, but no one was injured.
Roseau fled the mall’s park- ing lot before losing control of the Audi and crashing into a metal light pole and tree on Gardens Parkway, near the Mira Flores and La Posada communities.
According to a crash report, Roseau was driving 50 mph in a 35-mph speed zone when he slammed into the pole and tree. He was cited for careless driving.
Roseau told police that he didn’t remember what happened but thinks an unknown vehicle sideswiped his car, causing him to crash.
The report estimates the damage to the Audi at $4,000.
A dispute over alleged “drug rip-offs” led to the shooting Friday in the parking lot of The Gardens Mall, police said.
Virginia claimed he was acting in self-defense, but police said video evidence proved differently.
Virginia faces charges of aggravated assault with a weapon, shooting into an unoccupied vehicle and discharging a firearm in public.