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DADE CITY - The lead detective in the fatal shooting of Pasco County sheriff's Lt. Charles "Bo" Harrison told attorneys that the teenager accused in the crime admitted firing at Harrison's patrol car, but said he didn't know anyone was inside.
Authorities have been vague about what Alfredie Steele Jr., 19, told them days after Harrison, 57, was shot in his cruiser outside Rumors nightclub in Trilacoochee.
But in a transcribed deposition released Friday, Pasco County detective Jennifer Christensen said Steele claimed he didn't mean to hurt anyone.
Christensen told prosecutor Phil Van Allen and Public Defender Tom Hanlon that she didn't believe that claim.
"He was mad at the police because of the death of his friends. He takes a rifle with him planning to go to a club. I mean, I don't know of anybody who does that," Christensen said. "Then he goes and drinks heavily at the bar, so he says. I believe he just gets enough nerve. ... He makes a decision to shoot at the driver's side of the vehicle."
Authorities say that shortly after 2 a.m. June 1, Steele fired 13 times with an SKS assault rifle at Harrison. The deputy was struck twice in the back.
Investigators say Steele was upset about the death of friends, including one killed after a chase with deputies.
Christensen said investigators met with Steele twice June 3. First, when they questioned him before dawn, Steele was reluctant to describe what happened.
"He admitted to shooting a gun, and that's basically it," she said. "He didn't really admit to it, in the right words, that he shot at the vehicle."
Christensen said Steele asked for a lawyer, and without a direct admission that he shot at Harrison's patrol car, detectives took him home without charging him. She dropped Steele off at his Lacoochee home about 6:30 a.m.
Two hours later, Steele called and asked to come back, Christensen said. She said Steele admitted to shooting at Harrison's car, then broke down crying, insisting he didn't mean to hurt anyone.
"I don't believe him," Christensen said. "I believe he shot at that car to hurt somebody."
Steele is charged with first-degree murder and is being held at a Sumter County jail without bail.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. Hearings are scheduled in January for the defense to argue the legality of such a sentence and to update the judge on the case.