Life of vigor ends for man, 63, attacked in robbery

A stolen bicycle and cell phone lead detectives to suspects in the death of a 63-year-old Largo man.

By CHRIS TISCH, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published June 4, 2002

LARGO -- Charles Carroll was a tinkerer, a woodworker, a fixer of things. He went to bed late, woke up early and had a pot of coffee drained by 7 a.m. He rarely sat still to watch television and was always working on one thing or another.

And that was why his son found it so difficult to see him in a hospital bed, his limbs still, his voice silent. He stayed that way for almost three weeks until he died May 29, complications from a broken neck having taken his life.

"The man never stood still," Eric Carroll said. "He was always doing something. That was the hardest part: When we went to the hospital, he was just laying there. And this was a person who never laid down for more than a few hours. Seeing him there motionless in the bed, it just ripped us apart."

Largo police say Charles Carroll suffered that broken neck during a robbery on May 9. Police on Friday charged two teens, 17-year-old Richard Washington III and 14-year-old Charlie McDuffy, with murder in connection with Carroll's death.

The boys were charged under the state's felony murder law, which allows for the charge if someone dies during the commission of a felony, in this case robbery.

Eric Carroll, 34, said he isn't sure what punishment the youngsters should receive if they are convicted of the charge, though he thinks it should be the maximum allowed by the law. He said he feels sympathy to the boys' families because of their ages.

"It's extremely disappointing. There's no way they can bring back my father," he said. "Just for some money. It's horrible."

Eric Carroll said his father had been packing to prepare for a move all day on May 9. He had gone to a liquor store and was walking home when he fell asleep along a sidewalk. Police said one group of four boys came upon him and took his bicycle and cigarettes.

Police say Washington and McDuffy then came upon Carroll. He asked to buy a cigarette for $1, but accidentally gave the boys a $10 bill. The boys left, then returned. Washington pushed Carroll, snapping his neck like whiplash, police said. The boys took his wallet and cell phone, police said.

"He gave them a $10 bill by accident and they got greedy," Eric Carroll said.

Charles Carroll walked to a nearby home and asked the resident to call 911. Police said he gave varying stories as to who robbed him. What they didn't immediately realize was that two groups of boys had taken items from him.

Carroll, 63, was admitted to Largo Medical Center. He soon fell into unconsciousness and was placed on life support.

Eric Carroll, an English teacher who lives in Japan, flew to Florida to be with his father, but by the time he arrived his father was unresponsive. Eric Carroll returned to Japan on a Thursday. His father died the next Wednesday.

Family members initially were disappointed with how Largo police investigated. But when they called police and told them that their father might die, detectives began investigating with more vigor.

Detectives hit the street, looking for Carroll's bicycle. They found it and the four boys who took it, but they all denied pushing Carroll.

Detectives then got Carroll's cell phone records, which showed his phone had been used while he lay on his deathbed. That's when detectives discovered Carroll had actually been robbed twice.

Using the phone numbers called on the cell phone, they tracked down Washington and McDuffy. Both admitted that Washington had pushed Carroll while they stole his phone, detectives said.

"Their efforts were so outstanding," Eric Carroll said of the detectives. "Those guys really busted their butts."

He said his father had three children and six grandchildren. He had raised Eric in California, where the two were close.

"He was a really nice person," his son said. "He was my best friend."

Charles Carroll moved to Florida in 1987 and remarried a few years ago. He had worked during his life as a carpenter and apartment manager. He also carved chess sets and jewelry boxes. He was born in Memphis. He liked the Dallas Cowboys.

"They may not have meant to kill him, but they did," Carroll said of the boys. "And they can never pay us back. They can't bring back what they've taken, and it's way too much."

-- Chris Tisch can be reached at 445-4156 or tisch@sptimes.com.

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