A recording of a 911 call made after a shooting in Naples Tuesday indicated that the caller's vehicle description helped police locate the suspect quickly.
Lernis Cornish Jr., 42, is charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon after he allegedly shot Brian Battaglia, 49, during an apparent fight over money.
"There was two guys out here fighting, down here by 1272 5th Avenue North," the caller told the 911 dispatcher. There's a white guy still out here. He's bleeding, and the other guy took off in his vehicle."
She described the vehicle as a gray Honda Accord. Police soon pulled over a vehicle matching that description. Inside, they found Cornish and his girlfriend, as well as blood spatter and a loaded gun.
"I'm so nervous, I'm shaking," the caller told the dispatcher. "He's really bleeding."
Battaglia was MedFlighted to Lee Memorial Hospital as a trauma alert. At last check, he was expected to survive.
According to a Naples Police report, Cornish's girlfriend told them Battaglia had hired Cornish to drive him around after placing an ad on Craigslist. The men agreed to meet on 5th Avenue North so that Battaglia could pay Cornish.
But Cornish told police that when Battaglia told him he wasn't going to pay, Cornish retrieved his gun from his car. In an ensuing scuffle, the gun went off and struck Battaglia in the side of the chest.
A judge set Cornish's bond at $25,000.
