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Man, son-in-law shoot it out with thieves
By MATTHEW WAITE, Times Staff Writer
DARBY -- William Newman was spending part of his Father's Day afternoon mowing his lawn when at least three armed men came up to him. In minutes, they tied him to his lawn tractor with baling wire and started toward his house on Darby Road bent on stealing what they could find, Pasco County sheriff's officials and family said. Just as quickly, Newman, 59, got loose from his bonds. His captors saw him, and one shot him in the leg. Bleeding, Newman ran to a nearby barn and shut the door behind him. Using a phone inside the barn, Newman called 911 and then his son-in-law, Martin Harm, who lived less than a half-mile down Darby Road. In the barn, Newman found a .22-caliber rifle loaded with rat shot -- a round that fires tiny pellets almost like sand. One of the robbers went to the barn and cracked open a door. Newman told deputies he shot the man in the face. Meanwhile, Harm grabbed three clips of ammunition -- and would later wish he took more -- and his Glock 9mm handgun before driving off in his truck to his father-in-law's aid. The gunmen went into Newman's house, took a money box and ran outside. Upstairs taking a nap, Jennifer Newman did not hear them. Harm said that as he approached the Newmans' driveway, three gunmen saw him and raised their weapons. Harm got out of his truck, drew his Glock and started firing. "I just wanted to make enough noise so they thought I was the cops or something," said Harm, 37, who works as an investigator for an insurance company and has firearms training. Between the two clips that Harm fired at the three men and the rounds they were firing back, Harm said, he couldn't tell how many shots were fired. All he knew was he wanted to "drop one, drop all of them before I take one (bullet)," he said. During the gunfight, one of the gunmen dropped his weapon and the money and ran. The gunshots woke Jennifer Newman and she walked outside, confused as to what the noise was. Harm said he jumped in his truck, drove up to the house and picked up his mother-in-law. Then William Newman got in the truck with them. William Newman had lost a lot of blood but was talking, Harm said later. Harm took his in-laws back to his house on Hanlon Terrace, where paramedics put Newman on a medical helicopter bound for St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa. Sheriff's spokesman Kevin Doll said Newman's wound did not appear life-threatening. Deputies and the family don't know why robbers would select Newman's rural home. Harm said his father-in-law runs an auction business and auctioned off plumbing supplies in Ybor City on Saturday. Since 2:39 p.m. when the Sheriff's Office got the call, Doll said, they've been searching the woods south of Newman's home. He said as many as 15 deputies, five police dogs, a helicopter and troopers from the Florida Highway Patrol were searching for two men. Deputies arrested one man, who would not speak to deputies, and Doll said charges were pending against the man. Deputies were still looking for two suspects late Sunday night. Both may be wounded. "We are treating them like they are armed," Doll said. Anyone in the area who sees someone suspicious should call the Sheriff's Office, he said. "Don't take the law into your own hands. Please call us." -- Matthew Waite can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6247 or (800) 333-7505, ext. 6247. His e-mail address is waite@sptimes.com.
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