A 25-year-old Fort Pierce man has been sentenced to prison two years after he fired shots into an Indian River County home, according to court documents.
Vandrell Jacobs was sentenced to 10 years in state prison on Sept. 17 by 19th Judicial Circuit Judge Anastasia Norman at the Indian River County Courthouse, according to court documents.
Jacobs, who was 22 years old at the time, was arrested in early 2024 and charged with shooting into or throwing deadly missiles into dwellings, as well as fleeing and eluding law enforcement.
He was adjudicated guilty on both charges following a plea of no contest to each charge.
According to an Indian River County sheriff’s report:
On Jan. 28, 2024, about 2:30 p.m., Indian River County sheriff’s deputies went to Orangewood Park Apartments in the 4200 block of 38th Court after they received a report of shots fired.A witness told them a red Mercedes was traveling southbound on 38th Avenue when people inside starting shooting before the vehicle fled from the area.A sheriff’s sergeant had chased the vehicle through the parking lot in the 900 block of 14th Lane and activated his lights and sirens, but the vehicle fled from him at an extremely high rate of speed and ran numerous red lights.A sheriff’s detective tried to interview the man who was the intended target of the gunfire, but he was uncooperative. His mother’s home had sustained five bullet holes from the gunfire. She and her two young nieces and her adult daughter had been inside the home at the time.Witnesses who were sitting on their back porch at the time of the gunfire said the man who was the intended target was seen standing on his back porch, arguing with someone on the phone right before the gunfire. They said the red Mercedes had been circling the neighborhood before the gunfire and saw three men start shooting from the vehicle.A Flock Safety camera had recorded the vehicle at 41st Street and 43rd Avenue about two minutes before the gunfire.The next day, just before 11:30 a.m. Jan. 29, 2024, St. Lucie County sheriff’s detectives found the vehicle parked behind a home in the 3000 block of Anderson Drive in Fort Pierce. Two men found inside the vehicle were taking into custody for interviews.One of the men, Jacobs, admitted to being in the Gifford area at the time of the gunfire, but he said he was at the apartments to meet a woman. He admitted to driving the red Mercedes and saw the other man on his back porch. Jacobs mentioned having an issue with the man after being shot by him two years ago, but Jacobs said he wasn’t retaliating.Jacobs said the man walked toward him, acting like he had a gun, but Jacobs said he never saw the man with a gun. Jacobs said he was the only one shooting a gun despite various types of shell casings being found at the scene.
Numerous shootings had occurred at the Orangewood Park Apartments in the previous two years, according to the report. One of those was a fatal shooting on Dec. 3, 2022, when a man died after sustaining a single gunshot wound.
Laurie K. Blandford is a breaking news reporter with TCPalm. Email her at laurie.blandford@tcpalm.com.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Florida man gets 10 years’ prison for 2024 gunfire, fleeing officers
Reporting by Laurie K. Blandford, Treasure Coast Newspapers / Treasure Coast Newspapers
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect
This story was originally published September 21, 2026 at 5:34 PM.