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From the Palm Beach Post-

WEST PALM BEACH — A 43-year-old suburban Boca Raton accountant today was found responsible for the 2003 shooting death of a 16-year-old neighbor and ordered to pay $750,000 to his grieving parents.

After nearly 17 hours of deliberations over four days, a jury of five women and one man reached its verdict in the emotion-packed case at shortly before 11 a.m.

However, in finding Jay Levin responsible for shooting Mark Drewes, the jury stopped short of finding that he was guilty of intentional misconduct. That means Gregory and Luciana Drewes won't be able to seek punitive damages, which could have reached into the tens of millions of dollars.

Had they found Levin guilty of intentional misconduct, a second roughly daylong trial would have been held.

Levin shot Drewes in the back after he mistook him for an armed burglar. It is likely the strange noises that he said aroused him from his bed shortly after midnight on Oct. 25, 2003 were sounds Drewes made as he attempted to attach fishing line to Levin's door-knocker as part of a game of ding-dong-ditch.

The Drewes have won the first battle, how much the parents will receive when it is all over is unclear. Florida bankruptcy laws usually protect one's home. Levin may escape in the end without much monetary damage.

That's all in the future. I feel sorry for the Drewes and their loss. TFM lost a son too. I'm not passing judgment on Levin guilt or the Drewes motives for suing, but I'll say this. The Drewes won their legal battle and may receive a monetary reward. None of this will ever make up for the loss of their son. The void in their lives will always be there.

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