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Police Reports

Standoff ends in man's arrest at Lecanto bar

By JORGE SANCHEZ
Published July 6, 2004

LECANTO - A man who threatened to kill himself with a pistol and fired two shots in the air during a standoff with deputies was arrested after the incident ended without injuries Sunday. Thomas John Cunliffe, 49, of 6 S Tyler St., Beverly Hills, was arrested in the parking lot of the Sand Hill Saloon, at State Road 44 and County Road 490 in Lecanto, after the bartender had asked him to leave about 10 p.m. Sunday, according to an arrest report.

Cunliffe was asked to leave after having a beer and then becoming unruly, according to the report. A deputy arrived, escorted him out of the bar and left after Cunliffe asked for a few minutes to gather his emotions before driving off.

A few minutes after the deputy departed, a second call to 911 was made by the bartender, who said Cunliffe was waving a handgun at patrons in the parking lot.

When the deputy returned and pulled into the parking lot, Cunliffe drove up next to him and pulled a handgun, the arrest report states. He warned the deputy to stay away or he would "end it all," according to the report. As other deputies arrived, Cunliffe became more upset, and eventually fired his 9mm pistol twice in the air. Then he threw the weapon out of the driver's side door.

Cunliffe was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. His bail is set at $21,000.

In other police activity:

William Ferrell Eubanks, 40, whose address was listed as a post office box in Homosassa, was arrested early Monday and accused of stealing a truck from a Homosassa woman.

The woman said Eubanks also slashed the tires of the truck. When deputies found the truck parked on Slashpine Avenue, the slashed tires had been worn away from being driven on, exposing the rear rims, an arrest report said.

Eubanks, who was inside the vehicle when deputies found him, ran away from the truck and into nearby woods. He was pursued by a police dog and was bitten on the leg during his capture.

He was charged with grand theft, resisting an officer without violence, criminal mischief, DUI and driving with a suspended license. His bail was set at $3,800.

Kevin Michael Chancey, 18, of 3251 Tasha Court in Dunnellon, was arrested on charges of felony drug possession after deputies said they found more than 20 grams of marijuana in his vehicle. They also found a scale, plastic baggies and pipes. The marijuana was between 1 and 2 ounces.

The drugs were found in his car at a mud pit on E Marsh Lake Drive in Hernando, where the deputy was dispatched to investigate complaints of trespassing, loud vehicles and property destruction, an arrest report said. Chancey was released on his own recognizance.

- Jorge Sanchez can be reached at 860-7313. Send e-mail to sanchez@sptimes.com

[Last modified July 5, 2004, 18:58:04]