The prosecutor has not decided if he will seek the death penalty against the man accused of killing Lt. Charles "Bo" Harrison.
By CARY DAVIS and STEVE THOMPSON
Published June 19, 2003
[Times photos: Janel Schroeder-Norton]
Regina Clemmons walks close to Nathaniel Vanzant toward the West Pasco Judicial Center Wednesday. Clemmons raised both Vanzant and Alfredie Steele Jr. Records show Vanzant provided the state's key evidence against Steele.
Darren Hambrick, a Lacoochee native and NFL veteran, answered reporters' questions outside the courthouse Wednesday. Hambrick, who had been subpoenaed by prosecutors, did not testify.
NEW PORT RICHEY - A grand jury assembled Wednesday to consider the prosecution's evidence against Alfredie Steele Jr., accused in the June 1 sniper-style slaying of beloved Pasco Sheriff's Lt. Charles "Bo" Harrison.
At 9 a.m., an unlikely pair emerged from a white sedan and made their way toward the West Pasco Judicial Center. Steele's mother, Regina Clemmons, walked in step with the state's key witness, Nathaniel Vanzant.
Vanzant is Steele's cousin by blood, but brother by circumstances. The two grew up together under the same roof, raised by the same woman, Regina Clemmons.
Prosecutors had summoned Vanzant to testify against Steele. It was Vanzant, according to records, who helped crack the case when he told investigators that Steele had confessed to him, had admitted firing a high-powered rifle at Harrison and aiming "from the head to the waist."
As Clemmons approached the courthouse doors, on the verge of learning whether her son would be indicted, she gave a subtle signal that her family would not be destroyed. She took Vanzant's arm and together they strode past a bank of camera lenses.
Three hours later, after hearing from Vanzant and three Pasco sheriff's detectives, the grand jury's work was complete.
The grand jury indicted Steele, 19, on a charge of first-degree murder.
NFL linebacker Darren Hambrick, a longtime friend of Steele's who was subpoenaed by prosecutors, was not called to testify.
Now, as the case moves from the investigative stage to the courts, prosecutors must decide what punishment to seek. A conviction for first-degree murder carries two possible sentences: death or life in prison.
Pasco-Pinellas State Attorney Bernie McCabe, who is prosecuting Steele, said Wednesday that he had not decided whether he will seek the death penalty. Asked whether he was considering it, he replied, "absolutely."
By law, prosecutors must announce their decision within 10 days of Steele's arraignment, McCabe said. An arraignment date has not been scheduled.
Harrison, 57, was shot in the back as he sat in his marked patrol car, conducting surveillance of Rumors nightclub in Lacoochee. A 30-year veteran of the Sheriff's Office and the agency's highest ranking black deputy, Harrison was two weeks from retirement.
Authorities say Steele fired a high-powered rifle from woods behind Harrison's car. A bullet ripped through the trunk, pierced the driver's seat and struck Harrison, investigators say. Other deputies found Harrison slumped over in the car.
Steele had known Harrison his entire life, relatives said. Regina Clemmons has said her son never meant to harm Harrison, who had worked to soften tensions between residents in Lacoochee and the Sheriff's Office.
Those tensions reached a boiling point in May, after Steele's good friend, Michael Anthony Reed, died in a car crash after trying to outrun a sheriff's deputy. Reed's death had a profound effect on Steele, who had his friend's initials tattooed on his arm.
Authorities have said they suspect Steele might have been trying to avenge Reed's death when he took aim at a sheriff's cruiser and squeezed the trigger.
On Wednesday, McCabe would not comment on what evidence he presented to the grand jury, whose proceedings are closed to the public.
Nor would McCabe respond to published reports in which Steele's public defender, Tom Hanlon, has been quoted as saying his client might consider pleading guilty to second-degree murder and accepting a 25-year prison sentence. Hanlon did not return calls for comment Wednesday.
Vanzant, 23, declined to talk to reporters before and after his testimony Wednesday.
Despite the gravity of Wednesday's proceedings, it was a non-event that generated the biggest buzz.
Hambrick, 27, a Lacoochee native who played last season for the Cleveland Browns, was encircled by reporters and cameras. as he walked up the courthouse steps. He appeared composed as he amicably answered reporters' questions.
"I have nothing to do with it, but I have to cooperate and follow the legal procedures," he said. His only role in the case, he said, was to drive Steele to the Sheriff's Office for an interview.
"That's about the sum of it, period," he said.
Prosecutors didn't use his testimony in securing an indictment against Steele. As the indictment was published in the courtroom, a phalanx of reporters gathered around Hambrick outside.
Hambrick has ties to Steele and Harrison. Steele has been a longtime family friend of Hambrick's. Harrison was Hambrick's first football coach.
"I'm deeply sad about what happened to Bo Harrison and still sad about this kid being in this type of situation," he said. "It's just a bad time."
Hambrick ended the impromptu news conference and walked out to his pickup truck. Vanzant walked over and got in, and the two drove away.
