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Homosassa man's death puzzles friends
By CARRIE JOHNSON, Times Staff Writer HOMOSASSA -- Allen Kozlavskos called his doctor at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday to have his blood pressure checked. By the end of the day, the 48-year-old Homosassa resident would be dead. Investigators are still trying to determine what killed Kozlavskos, who stopped breathing after sheriff's deputies pulled him out from underneath his mobile home, where he had been kicking and thrashing. An autopsy was scheduled to be performed Wednesday, but results were unavailable, said Ronda Hemminger Evan, a spokeswoman for the Citrus County Sheriff's Office. Friends of the Detroit native, who had been living in the mobile home at the Fishnet Motel since November, said they had no idea what caused his death. "I think the Lord just called him home," said Mike Allen, who said he was Kozlavskos' best friend. "He was a good man, and it was just his time to go." Kozlavskos never had his blood pressure checked that day, but he appeared to be in fine health, Allen said. The two friends held a yard sale along Halls River Road for most of the morning, and Kozlavskos was laughing and making jokes. "He was a comedian," Allen said. "Al was a very funny guy." Kozlavskos lived in the mobile home with his longtime girlfriend, Gayla Wilson. He was a large man -- weighing about 290 pounds -- and took several medications to control a mental illness, said Mike Richards, who also lives at the Fishnet. "He was a big, old teddy bear," Richards said. "Usually, his medication kept him calm." But about 2:30 p.m., Wilson dialed 911 and told dispatchers that her boyfriend was behaving strangely and threatening to hurt himself. By the time deputies arrived, Kozlavskos was underneath the mobile home and refused to come out. They dragged him out by his legs and flipped him onto his stomach to be handcuffed, Evan said. When they rolled him back onto his back, he had stopped breathing, Evan said. Paramedics rushed him to Seven Rivers Community Hospital, where he died. Kozlavskos' 49th birthday would have been Friday. "It's too bad," Richards said. "He was a really good guy." -- Crime reporter Carrie Johnson can be reached at 860-7309 or by e-mail at cjohnson@sptimes.com.
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