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2 deputies cleared in shooting
By JAMIE JONES, Times Staff Writer BROOKSVILLE -- Two sheriff's deputies have been cleared of any criminal wrongdoing in the March 16 shooting death of Nathaniel B. Adkins. The State Attorney's Office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which investigated the killing, said Friday that the deputies were justified in using deadly force. The deputies, William Martinez and Clifford Groves, fired 20 shots at Adkins, whom they were trying to arrest on a Hillsborough County warrant for aggravated battery with a firearm. Ten bullets hit Adkins and one hit his gun, authorities said. Adkins, a 22-year-old Tampa man, died behind the Oaks Motel on Broad Street. Standing nearby, his girlfriend screamed and wept. Adkins fired two rounds, both of which missed the deputies, authorities said. Adkins was black and the deputies are white. After the shooting, Frankie Burnett, president of the Hernando County chapter of the NAACP, said some black residents were contemplating riots. Sheriff Richard Nugent immediately called a meeting with black leaders. On Friday, Sharon Vickers, vice president of the NAACP, and several other community leaders met again with Nugent to discuss the findings. Vickers said she was satisfied with the investigation and said the shooting "appeared to be justified." "My compassion and sympathy goes out to those families," Vickers said. She said residents have been concerned about whether Adkins really had a gun and whether he did in fact fire at deputies. She said she would share the information she received with the NAACP. FDLE Special Agent Supervisor Ray Velboom said Friday that his investigators had interviewed law enforcement officers, about 25 or 30 people in the neighborhood and reviewed all evidence. "I am 1,000 percent sure he had a gun in his hand," Velboom said of Adkins, noting tests showed that Adkins had fired a gun. This is how the FDLE said the incident unfolded: About 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 16, a man named Ples Hammond went to the Hernando County Sheriff's Office to say a man who robbed him a month earlier was staying at the Oaks Motel. Hammond told deputies that the man, called "Juicy," was wanted in Hillsborough County. A deputy recalled seeing the name "Juicy" on a bulletin that identified the man as Nathaniel Adkins and saw that he was wanted in Hillsborough County. Deputies called the Brooksville Police Department for assistance because the motel is in the department's jurisdiction, and they waited for a police dog. About 3:30 p.m., five law enforcement officers met at the Save-A-Lot on Broad Street. They had confirmed that Adkins' girlfriend, Amy Massey, had rented Room No. 1 at the motel. At 3:50 p.m., Deputy Martinez and another officer walked toward the room. Three officers stood at the back of the motel. Massey came out and began talking to deputies. The officers behind the motel saw a man that "looked like he was trying to conceal himself," said Deputy Brett Schambach. Schambach yelled for the man to stop, but he ran. He headed into the adjacent Oaks Mobile Home Park, scaled a fence and kept running, authorities said. Deputies followed. Deputy Martinez and his dog, Magnum, were leading the chase when Adkins turned around and with the gun in his right hand, fired one shot at Martinez, authorities said. It missed. Martinez released his dog. Adkins ran between two mobile homes. As Martinez rounded the corner, he said Adkins was waiting for him in "combat stance" with both hands on the gun. He fired a second shot at Martinez, authorities said. The dog, Magnum, grabbed Adkins' arm. Martinez dived to the ground. Martinez then fired his .40-caliber Glock. He fired 16 rounds and was reloading when Deputy Groves arrived, authorities said. Groves said he saw Adkins on his knees pointing the gun, now holding it in his left hand, at Martinez. Groves fired four shots at Adkins. At 4:04 p.m., Groves announced over the police radio that the suspect was dead. Authorities believe that one of their rounds hit Adkins' gun, making it unable to fire more than two shots. One resident of the mobile home park, Nazario Garcia, told authorities he saw a man holding a pistol as he was chased by officers. Other witnesses said they never saw Adkins holding a gun, the FDLE's Velboom said. At the scene, deputies found a 9mm gun near Adkins' hands. They also found 18 .40-caliber shell casings and one 9mm shell casing. When asked how Adkins could be able to point his gun at Martinez after he had been shot at 16 times, authorities said it was entirely possible in the adrenaline-soaked moment. The FDLE traced the gun and said someone bought it at a gun shop in Brooksville on May 5, 1998. They talked to the person who bought the gun, who said he had sold it to another individual. They did not discover how Adkins got the gun, Velboom said. Nugent said he was satisfied that the deputies acted appropriately. Both have been with the Sheriff's Office for about 10 years. "I'm proud of them," Nugent said. "They have an obligation to protect their community, and that's what they were doing. They risked their lives." Nugent is conducting his own internal affairs investigation into the incident, which will be completed in four to six weeks. -- Jamie Jones covers law enforcement and courts in Hernando County and can be reached at 754-6114. Send e-mail at jjones@sptimes.com.
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From today's Hernando Times |
