Legislator’s Wife Shot; Rival Candidate Is Arrested

A legislative candidate was arrested Monday and charged with attempted murder in the shooting of his opponent’s wife. Police said her husband was the intended target.

Eric Kaplan, 28, also was charged with aggravated battery and firing into an occupied home. He was jailed on $100,000 bail.

Judith Starks, the 47-year-old wife of Republican state Rep. Robert Starks, was shot in the leg early Sunday in her bed. She was hit by one of five shots fired from the back yard into the couple’s home. She was treated at a hospital.

“We believe (Kaplan) intended to kill the representative,” Sheriff Don Eslinger said. “There is no connection other than politics. We believe he wanted to win in the worst way.”

Kaplan, the Democratic challenger for Starks’ suburban Orlando seat, was arrested at his parents’ Altamonte Springs home. His attorney had issued a statement earlier Monday saying Kaplan denied any involvement in the shooting.

Sheriff’s spokesman George Proechel said a witness had followed Kaplan’s car to his apartment complex in Casselberry, where police found a five-shot .38-caliber revolver and a handwritten note with Starks’ address on it.

In the car, deputies found a blanket riddled with five bullet holes, apparently used to muffle the gun, authorities said.

The statement issued by attorney James Russ said Kaplan “expresses his sincere concern and sympathy for the family of Robert Starks. The reported attack upon them in their home--particularly if politically related--is indeed a tragedy for them and for the entire central Florida community.”

On Monday, Mrs. Starks spoke with reporters while propped up in bed with pillows and a bandage on her left leg.

“I really believe that God protected me. It gives me even greater confidence in his protection,” she said. “For that reason, I’m not fearful for whatever might happen in the future, whatever Bob decides.”

Starks, 46, said he was “amazed, bewildered, flabbergasted” when police told him they suspected Kaplan. An airline pilot, Starks was away on the job at the time of the shooting.

He said he would continue his bid for a third term.