People

Law of the land

Being a native has its advantages for the sheriff's righthand man. ''When I ride through Brandon, I know a story about every corner.''

By TAMARA LUSH, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published January 31, 2003

LITHIA -- David Gee, the second-in-command at the Hillsborough Sheriff's Office, came close to becoming an FBI agent when he was a young patrol deputy.

"I talked to the recruiter and he said I was going to get the job," Gee recalled. "Then he told me that the first place I would go was Newark, New Jersey."

Gee, who has never lived outside of a 3-mile radius of Lithia, turned down the offer and stayed with the Sheriff's Office. He just couldn't imagine leaving Hillsborough County.

"I'm an east side boy," he says.

Gee may soon be something else: the county's next sheriff. Last month, Sheriff Cal Henderson announced that he would not seek a fourth term in 2004. In the same breath, Henderson endorsed Gee to succeed him.

Gee was born at Plant City Hospital 43 years ago. He grew up in Lithia, played for the East Point Little League, graduated from Brandon High and picked lots of oranges on his family's grove during the summers. He also was on his high school's citrus judging team, something that turned him against oranges for life.

"I don't even eat them now," he said.

Gee used to hunt deer in orange groves that are now subdivisions. His former Little League diamond gave way to an office park. What he knew as "The Dime Store" -- Neisner's general store -- became a chain pharmacy.

Still, his memories of "a rural little cow town" keep him going.

"When I ride through Brandon, I know a story about every corner and every intersection," he said. "It's just a sense of community and a sense of being at home."

Growing up, he didn't want to stick around.

"I'd go to different places and say, 'Oh, that's a great place to live.' "

He also had another desire as a child: to be a police officer. His father worked for a company that made agricultural projects, and his family owned citrus groves.

Gee wanted a job with more action.

At 19, he became a community service officer for the sheriff's office.

Retired sheriff's Major Bobby DeLuna remembers when Gee first started.

"He was very shy," DeLuna said. "David was the kind of guy that did what he was supposed to do, and he did it quietly."

When he was 20, Gee enrolled in the law enforcement academy. He wasn't even 21 when he graduated, which meant that he couldn't buy a gun. He could own one, just not buy one -- so his academy class bought him his service revolver.

Early in his career, Gee said he didn't get the chance to move to a bigger city. He had started a family, and was making a name for himself at the Sheriff's Office.

Gee rose quickly through the ranks. He was one of two deputies who patrolled the east side at night, south of State Road 60 all the way to the Polk County line.

"If something happened over there, I could almost tell you who did it," Gee said.

Sometimes he would be assigned to Carrollwood. Not being as familiar with the west side of the county, Gee would pull out his map.

Because of his wrinkle-free face and aw-shucks demeanor, Gee quickly was promoted to the vice squad, working undercover.

At 22, he made detective. He investigated robberies, burglaries and finally, homicides. One of his first big cases was Bobby Joe Long, a serial killer who murdered nine women and is now on death row.

Between investigations, Gee got a mathematics degree from the University of Tampa. He was promoted to the role of sheriff's spokesman, then to chief financial officer.

He is now the agency's chief deputy.

"I see the sheriff as the chief executive officer and I see myself as the chief operating officer," said Gee. "I do the details."

These days, the details include two massive projects: overseeing the agency's homeland security detail and taking over child protective investigations from the state Department of Children and Families.

"We are transitioning from a rural sheriff's office to an urban sheriff's office," he said. "We have a lot of growing pains."

And now, Gee doesn't want to leave Hillsborough County.

"I didn't have the opportunity to leave when I was younger, and when I did have the opportunity, I had come to my senses," he said.

As Gee knows, most of the county's growth is happening in eastern Hillsborough.

That hasn't made him want to leave, either.

Gee, who has a wife and three children, lives about 3 miles from his childhood home, where his parents still reside. Once a month, he has dinner with his high school friends -- all doctors and lawyers.

He won't leave Lithia, he said, even if he becomes the county's top cop.

"It's just good knowing people, being part of a place," he said. "I care about things here."

David Gee

• AGE: 43
• OCCUPATION: Chief deputy, Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.
• HOBBY: Collects antique Sheriff's Office memorabilia, including 50-year-old Sheriff's badges, patches and uniforms.
• MUSICAL INTEREST: Learning to play guitar. Lyin' Eyes by the Eagles is one of the few tunes he knows.
• FAMILY: Wife, Rhonda; children, Jennifer, 20, Weston, 16, and Kara, 13.
• OUTINGS: Hunting, fishing, skiing.
• OTHER STUFF: Security consultant, Major League Baseball; member, Brandon Hospital Board of Trustees; director, Valrico State Bank; member, Brandon Boys and Girls Club Council.
• LOYALTY: He's a Bucs fan.
• FAVORITE TV COP SHOW: "I don't watch 'em, because I don't believe most of them."