Police describe weapons left at scene of motel shooting
By Times Staff
Published June 29, 2004
CLEARWATER - Police said Monday they found four loaded guns, including an assault rifle, inside the motel room of a man shot to death by an officer Friday.
Robert C. Williams II, 43, barricaded himself inside a first-floor room at the Regal Motel on Cleveland Street on Friday. At one point, he held a male acquaintance hostage in the room, but eventually let him go.
Just after 2 p.m., Williams emerged at the door of the room and pointed a gun at officers, said police spokesman Wayne Shelor. Sgt. Mark Trulock, a 16-year department veteran who is on the SWAT team, fired one shot, killing Williams.
Police said Williams had told negotiators that police would have to shoot him. After the Tampa Bomb Squad checked the room for booby traps and found none, police discovered two handguns, a shotgun and the assault rifle in the room, Shelor said. Officers also found more ammunition in Williams' car.
Police said a drug problem may have led to Williams' behavior. Trulock, 44, who has not been involved in another police shooting during his career, was placed on routine paid administrative leave while Clearwater police and the State Attorney's Office investigate.
Deputies arrest 22 people at two sobriety checkpoints
More than 2,000 vehicles passed through two three-hour sobriety checkpoints this weekend in North Pinellas, with deputies arresting 16 people for driving under the influence, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office. The checkpoints were staged from 8:30 to 11:30 p.m. Friday at the Berea Baptist Church on Alt. U.S. 19 in Palm Harbor, and from 1 a.m. to 4 a.m. Saturday at Lockheed Martin on Tampa Road in Oldsmar. Twenty-nine deputies participated in the operation. Of the 2,110 vehicles that went through, 422 were assessed for driver impairment, license status and warrants. The checks took an average of 11/2 minutes, according to the Sheriff's Office. A total of 22 people were arrested on 31 charges. In addition to the DUIs, deputies made arrests on possession of cocaine, marijuana and drug paraphernalia, driving with suspended or revoked license, driving without a valid license, probation violation and hit-and-run with property damage. Forty-eight citations were issued and nine vehicles were impounded.
Crash injures motorcycle rider who was fleeing from police
CLEARWATER - A motorcyclist fled from a police officer trying to make a traffic stop, almost ran over an officer on foot, then led police on an intermittent pursuit though Clearwater before crashing on Keene Road, police said.
The incident began Friday afternoon on the roundabout on Clearwater Beach when an officer tried to pull the male motorcyclist over. The man sped off toward the mainland, almost hitting an officer who was on foot. Officers issued a description of the motorcyclist, and police picked him up on the mainland. With officers in pursuit, he crashed his Kawasaki Ninja on Keene Road near Sunset Point Road, police said. The man, whose name was not available, was taken to a local hospital with injuries not considered life-threatening. Police said they expected to arrest him on at least one charge of aggravated assault after his release from the hospital.
