Florida Keys man gets 6 years for trying to kill roommate with crossbow
A judge sentenced a Florida Keys man on Wednesday to six years in state prison for shooting his roommate in the ear with a crossbow in September.
George Balboni, 61, attacked Juan Baez because Baez planned to show their landlord an empty vodka bottle that he fished out of the garbage in what Balboni perceived as an attempt to make him look bad, Monroe County Sheriff’s Office deputies said in their Sept. 16 arrest report.
“This upset Balboni, who came up with a plan to kill Baez,” deputies stated in their report. The two men had been roommates on and off at a house on the 700 block of Largo Road in Key Largo for about seven years, according to the report.
When deputies arrived, Balboni admitted shooting Baez, telling deputies his roommate was “a parasite” and that he had no remorse about pulling the trigger, according to his arrest report.
This week, Balboni pleaded no contest to attempted first-degree murder, and Circuit Court Judge James Morgan sentenced him to six and a half years in prison, with nine months credit for time served.
“This was a calculated and premeditated attempt to execute another person using a crossbow, carried out through deception and aimed directly at the victim’s head,” Chief Assistant Monroe County State Attorney Joeseph Mansfield said in a statement. “The only reason we are not discussing a homicide is because the defendant failed in his attempt and the victim fought back.”
According to the arrest report, Balboni woke up Baez around 6:50 a.m. and asked Baez to drive him to the hospital for rib pain. Both men got into the car, and Balboni pulled out the pistol-style crossbow, pointed it at the side of Baez’s head and fired, the report states.
The arrow grazed Baez’s ear, deputies say. Baez then hit Balboni several times, causing him to drop the weapon, according to the report.
When deputies asked Balboni what he planned to do if he had killed Baez, he responded, according to the report that “he hadn’t thought that far ahead.”
This story was originally published April 22, 2026 at 12:42 PM with the headline "Florida Keys man gets 6 years for trying to kill roommate with crossbow."
