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KEVIN GRAHAMThe Plant City man threatened to firebomb his home and kill deputies with a tool that resembled a handgun, the Sheriff's Office said.
SEFFNER - A domestic violence call late Saturday night ended with two deputies shooting a man after he threatened to kill one of the deputies.
Deputies thought the man had a gun, but it was a metal and plastic tool that resembled a handgun, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said.
Lawrence Harold Lalonde, 41, of 5706 Pless Road, Plant City, died at the scene of the shooting in Seffner.
Deputy Terry Strawn and canine Deputy Charlotte Raschke, both 13-year veterans of the Hillsborough Sheriff's Office, were placed on administrative leave, pending an investigation of the shooting.
About 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, deputies responded to Lalonde's home in Plant City on a domestic violence call, said sheriff's spokesman Cpl. Danny Tewmey. A woman, whose name was not released Sunday, also lived at the home, Tewmey said. She said Lalonde had threatened to firebomb their wooden, double-wide mobile home, Tewmey said.
Lalonde had already left in a blue Ford F150 truck. He drove about 10 miles west to the TA Travel Center truck stop on County Road 579 and Interstate 4. He used a pay phone there to call home, Tewmey said, telling a sheriff's deputy who answered that he was going to commit suicide.
Deputies traced the call to the truck stop and found Lalonde's truck there a short time later, Tewmey said.
By 10:40 p.m., deputies were swarming the area near the truck stop, looking to arrest Lalonde on felony charges of arson and aggravated assault.
Strawn saw Lalonde hiding in the bushes at the nearby Lazydays RV Supercenter at 6130 Lazy Days Blvd. Strawn directed Raschke to Lalonde's location, and she ordered him out of hiding, said Tewmey.
Lalonde complied, said Tewmey, coming out of the bushes with both hands extended and holding an object the "size and general appearance of a handgun." Tewmey said Lalonde pointed the object at Raschke "and verbally threatened to kill her."
Both Strawn and Raschke fired several times, killing Lalonde on the spot, Tewmey said.
It was unclear Sunday whether the deputies had Tasers, less-than-lethal weapons that shoot darts and 50,000 volts of electricity to immobilize a suspect.
"I'm not sure if these deputies had Tasers," Tewmey said, adding even if they did, "they couldn't have used the Tasers in this situation."
Tewmey said the deputies were alerted that Lalonde had spilled gasoline on himself as he attempted to firebomb his home. Using a Taser on him could have set him on fire.
The Hillsborough Sheriff's Office ordered 350 of the battery-powered Tasers, but Tewmey said "not even half" of Hillsborough deputies have been outfitted with them.
Pinellas County received 34 Tasers in January, with plans to have 400 by 2005. Tampa police have ordered 512.
Back at Lalonde's Plant City home Sunday evening, the front door was propped open. No one was home.
Most of the lights inside the home were turned on. A large picture window in the front room had been smashed out. Pieces of glass were sprinkled across the living room carpet. A gasoline can sat on the front porch.
The driver's and passenger's door windows of a Chevrolet Cavalier parked in the yard also were broken out.
This was the third time in two days that Tampa Bay area deputies shot a suspect.
Early Saturday morning, a Pinellas County deputy shot and killed a 59-year-old man authorities said threw a knife at a deputy's head and then advanced on deputies with another knife.
On Friday, two Pinellas deputies shot at a man who was pulling a stolen boat and trailer in Largo. A bullet hit Anthony Dinaso, 27, in the side after he rammed two Sheriff's Office vehicles, authorities said. Dinaso was recovering Saturday at BayFront Medical Center. The incident remains under investigation.
- Information from Times files was used in this story. Kevin Graham can be reached at 813 226-3433 or kgraham@sptimes.com