The shooting was called in by a witness who saw a car driving away. No one was injured.
By JORGE SANCHEZ
Published May 4, 2004
[Times photo: Stephen J. Coddington]
Sgt. Tim Martin of the Citrus County Sheriff's Office walks out the damaged front door of the Coastal Region Community Resource Office building in Homosassa. As many as 12 bullets hit it Sunday night.
Donald K. Coan was accused of cultivating marijuana in a grow room at a mobile home in Homosassa.
Gennaro Tyrell Williams was charged with possession of cocaine and marijuana after a traffic stop.
HOMOSASSA - A drive-by shooting at a Citrus County Sheriff's Office substation Sunday night caused extensive damage to the building, but no injuries.
As many as 12 bullets hit the Coastal Region Community Resource Office building at 8177 W Grover Cleveland Blvd. between 11 and 11:30 p.m. Sunday. No one was inside. The bullets traveled through several interior walls and shattered the glass on the front door.
"We're very, very fortunate that no one was inside the building," said Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Ronda Hemminger Evan. "There's not a single wall inside that wasn't affected by the shots."
The shooting was reported at 11:15 p.m. Sunday by someone who heard about five shots and saw a car driving away on Grover Cleveland Boulevard, Evan said. An off-duty deputy who was going to the substation to file some reports arrived at about 11:30 p.m. and was the first one to see the damage.
Sheriff's officials do not have any suspects.
The substation is a work site for detectives, community resource officers and road patrol deputies. Seven full-time staffers work there.
Evidence technicians from the Sheriff's Office were looking for bullet casings and shell fragments from the shooting on Monday. The case is being investigated by the Sheriff's Office Major Crimes Unit, Evan said.
In other police activity:
A tip led detectives on Sunday to a mobile home that was being used to grow marijuana.
Donald K. Coan, 26, 5729 S Georgian Road, Homosassa, was arrested after a detective from the Citrus County Sheriff's Office special investigations unit searched the home. Inside a grow room were 11 potted marijuana plants and a grow light system. The 11 plants yielded about 1.6 pounds, or 825 grams, of marijuana. Coan said he was growing it for his personal use, according to arrest reports.
Two deputies were sent to Coan's residence after the Sheriff's Office received a tip describing activities consistent with a marijuana-growing operation.
When deputies arrived, along with Detective Kristopher Bentz, the smell of the plants was coming from an air conditioning vent and from a hole in the floor of the trailer, according to the report.
Then Coan arrived in his vehicle, and deputies read him his Miranda rights.
He first refused deputies' requests to search the trailer. While a search warrant was being prepared, Coan told deputies that he was "screwed" and gave them permission to search and told them that he was growing marijuana inside.
He was charged with one count of cultivation of cannabis and taken to the Citrus County jail Sunday, where he was released after posting $5,000 bail.
Gennaro Tyrell Williams, 18, of 830 NE Hartshore Lane in Holder was arrested on charges of possession of crack cocaine and a misdemeanor amount of marijuana after a traffic stop in Copeland Park in Crystal River on Sunday. Williams was a passenger in a car that was being pursued by police. When police stopped the car, the driver ran away. Deputies found the marijuana and crack cocaine in plastic bags on the passenger floorboard of the car, near Williams' feet.
He was charged with possession of crack cocaine and less than 20 grams of marijuana. He was released after posting $5,000 bail.
