North Port man convicted in 2025 fatal shooting

A Sarasota County jury convicted Michael David Reinel of North Port on Wednesday of second-degree murder with a firearm in the 2025 shooting death of a man inside a North Port home. The State Attorney's Office for the 12th Judicial Circuit announced the verdict.

The shooting happened around 9 p.m. on Feb. 6, 2025, at a home in North Port. Prosecutors say two people inside the home called 911 after an argument between Reinel and the victim ended in gunfire. North Port police officers arrived to find the victim in the living room with multiple gunshot wounds. Officers and emergency crews worked to save him, and he was pronounced dead about an hour after the first 911 call.

Investigators found the victim had been shot five times with a .357-caliber revolver, according to prosecutors. The gun, which held five rounds, was later found in Reinel's bedroom. An autopsy showed two of the five wounds entered the victim's back, the State Attorney's Office said. A projectile recovered from the victim was matched to that revolver, and Florida Department of Law Enforcement testing found only Reinel's DNA on the firearm.

Reinel took the stand during the trial and said he acted in self-defense. The jury rejected that argument after three days of testimony. A sentencing date has not been set.