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Thursday, March 28, 2024

On a narrow street off Millhopper Road, there’s a quiet neighborhood lined with trees. The place smelled of burnt wood, and on Monday evening, the silence was only broken by birds chirping in the distance.

But earlier that day, the sounds of gunshots filled the air.

At about 4:30 p.m., Randall J. Smith dialed 911 from the neighborhood located at Northwest 69th Drive. He said he had just shot a man several times.

Alachua County Sheriff’s deputies arrested the 54-year-old on a homicide charge after he allegedly murdered his neighbor, according to an arrest report.

When law enforcement arrived, Smith was still on the phone with dispatch. He followed instructions to put down his gun and was detained, according to the report. First responders tried to help the victim, Michael Carreiro, but he was pronounced dead on the scene. He was 47.

During questioning, Smith said he and Carreiro had a history of disputes. He gave police the following account: Before making the call, Smith was spraying herbicide to treat poison ivy on the side of the drive when he noticed a car coming. He saw it was Carreiro and started walking back toward his house. But when he turned around, he noticed Carreiro had stopped and was walking briskly toward him.

Smith said he walked toward Carreiro with his hands up, prompting Carreiro to yell “What the f*** are you doing?” Smith stopped heading toward him, but Carreiro kept advancing and threatened to kill him and his family.

That’s when Smith reached behind his back for his lawfully concealed gun. Smith drew the gun, and Carreiro said he wouldn’t use it, Smith said.

Smith fired the gun rapidly, and Carreiro fell to the ground, face down. His arms were tucked under him, and he wasn’t moving. Smith waited a few seconds, then fired two more rounds into his back. Officers found 14 shell casings.

The men had been neighbors for nearly 10 years, and Carreiro did not approve of Smith’s property maintenance on Northwest 69th Drive. Smith said the deceased had made violent threats toward him in the past.

Smith made several reports to the sheriff’s office in 2013 to try to resolve the conflicts, according to the report. He said the last time he heard from Carreiro before the shooting was after he spoke with Carreiro’s probation officer in the fall.

Officers booked Smith into the Alachua County Jail at about 12:20 a.m. Tuesday, where he remained as of press time in lieu of a $1 million bond.

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[A version of this story ran on page 8 on 4/2/2014 under the headline "Man arrested after shooting neighbor"]

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