FL) Burglar killed in confrontation with homeowner 11-20-01
Address:http://www.sptimes.com/News/112001/NorthPinellas/Burglar_killed_in_con.shtml
Burglar killed in confrontation with resident Deputies say the burglar
squirted the resident with pepper spray, but the resident returned fire.
A third man fled the scene. By LEANORA MINAI
? St. Petersburg Times,
published November 20, 2001
SEMINOLE — A man was fatally shot Monday during an attempted home
burglary next to Seminole City Park.
The man, whose name was not released, was shot two or three times after
squirting the resident of 11600 75th Ave. N with pepper spray, said Cal
Dennie, a Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office spokesman.
Homicide investigators were searching Monday night for another man who
sped from the home in a Ford Explorer, leaving behind a roll of duct
tape and a pair of gloves.
The resident was being questioned by sheriff’s investigators Monday
night. His name was not released.
No arrests were made.
Authorities refused to discuss details of the incident, saying only that
two men drove a 1999 gold Ford Explorer with Pennsylvania tags into the
resident’s driveway at 3:30 p.m.
One man entered the house; the other remained outside with the vehicle.
The man who went inside confronted the resident and squirted him with
pepper spray.
Some neighbors said they heard arguing before the gunshots. After the
shots, the man outside ran two doors west on 75th Avenue N.
“He had that deer in the headlights look about him,” said neighbor Nancy
Creus, 46, who was outside grouting tile.
Creus saw the man and mentioned matter-of-factly something about the
firecrackers being loud. But he did not respond.
“He appeared very nervous,” she said. “He was shaking.”
Creus said he dropped duct tape and gloves and ran back to the driveway.
He jumped in the Ford Explorer and failed to halt at the stop sign as he
drove away.
She went to check on her neighbor.
“He opened the door just a little bit,” Creus said. She asked him if he
was okay.
“I’m okay,” she said he replied. “But I shot him.” He told her she
needed to go.
Deputies arrived soon after and cordoned off the street with yellow
crime tape.
“There’s got to be more to it than meets the eye. Much more to it,” said
neighbor Pete Gilberti, 63, who had the day’s mail in his hands.
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