Man linked to gang arrested in shooting
Belle Glade man narrowly escaped being paralyzed.
BELLE GLADE — A Belle Glade man narrowly escaped being paralyzed after being shot in his lower back last month, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff ’s Office.
The alleged gunman was arrested last week and is facing aggravated battery and aggravated assault charges.
Investigators say Craig Mario Briscoe, 21, of Belle Glade, who investigators said in their report is affiliated with the 4Way Bloods gang, shot the man April 22.
Briscoe, arrested May 3, is charged with aggravated battery with a firearm, being a felon in possession of firearm, criminal mischief and aggravated assault with a firearm. He remained in the Palm Beach County Jail on Thursday with his bail set at $210,000.
The 21-year-old victim’s friend said Briscoe didn’t like him because of an earlier homicide in Pahokee, according to detectives.
The victim was investigated as a suspect and cleared, the report said. The friend said Briscoe and a family member threatened to “take care of business” if they saw the victim, according to the report.
After heading back from a CVS store at about 11:30 p.m., the man and his friend parked their car and walked to the friend’s home on Southwest Avenue C Place. As the man walked, he was shot in the lower back. The county ShotSpotter surveillance system detected six rounds fired.
The friend called 911, and deputies say they found the man lying on the floor. The man was flown to St. Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm Beach. Doctors chose not to remove the bullet from his back because trying to do so could paralyze him, according to the report.
At the scene, detectives also found 10 .40-caliber casings where they determined Briscoe, known as “CJ,” was standing, PBSO said.
Two days later, the friend told detectives of seeing who shot the victim but not reporting it out of fear of retaliation, according to the report. The detective wrote that “in Belle Glade anyone that witnesses a shooting ... will most likely suffer some sort of retaliation.”
The friend later identified Briscoe in a photo lineup. After identifying him, the friend got a call from an unknown male making threats, the report said.