NORTH NAPLES, Fla. — The Collier County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) said 24-year-old Eric Dersch is in custody at the Collier County Jail after a shooting incident in North Naples Tuesday evening.
“Sometimes you get some people who come through here who aren’t so friendly,” remarked Josh Break, a witness to the dramatic incident that unfolded yesterday afternoon when three shots were fired into an apartment complex in North Naples off of Cypress Way East.
According to the arrest report, CCSO deputies responded to a shots fired call at approximately 5:15 p.m. The targeted residence, located at 175 Cypress Way East, sustained three bullet holes, with shots fired above the door handle, into the door handle and into the lock.
“My wife goes…’oh shoot. I heard a gunshot’. And then she goes ‘oh my God, I heard two more’,” said Break.
Eyewitnesses at the scene helped identify the alleged shooter. They reported seeing him fire the shots before swiftly leaving the scene in a gold Sebring.
“There was a gold Sebring over here…and all I heard was ‘go, go, go.’ I see him pull around us on this side now,” recalled Break, who decided to take action by following the suspect’s vehicle.
Break, a quick-thinking witness, followed the vehicle while on the phone with deputies, giving them a license plate in real-time. Break and the suspect then made their way to a nearby Publix Plaza off U.S. 41 and Immokalee Road, where law enforcement authorities were able to apprehend him. During a search of Dersch’s car, a handgun was discovered, providing further evidence in the case.
“We try to watch out for each other. I’ve got three little girls at home. The last thing I can think of is a stray bullet going through my kitchen window and hitting one of them,” Break said as to why he decided to follow an armed man willingly.
Video surveillance footage obtained from the area provided a clearer picture of the events. The footage showed Dersch and an accomplice driving up to the scene. Dersch, armed with a gun, entered the residence briefly before hastily leaving.
“I just wanted to make sure they were caught. Because if they came back to finish the job…I don’t know these guys, who they saw. I just wanted to make sure justice is served,” added Break.
Accounts from individuals involved in the incident provided different perspectives on what transpired.
The driver of the vehicle in which Dersch was traveling stated, “Dersch told him to pick him up and saw two males fighting with Dersch.” The driver claimed that Dersch mentioned retrieving a bag from his home but decided to leave after hearing gunshots. However, when the driver asked Dersch to exit the vehicle upon seeing the gun, Dersch refused to comply.
Dersch himself offered a different version of events during his interview with authorities. He claimed that he was robbed at gunpoint by a white male and picked up the dropped firearm. Dersch stated that he went to retrieve his belongings from the victim’s residence but received no response, prompting him to leave.
Dersch is now being held at the Collier County Jail on a $200,000 bond, facing charges of firing a missile into a dwelling and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
A judge ruled Wednesday that Dersch will have no access to the victim, will not be permitted on the apartment complex’s property and will have to relinquish all firearms.