Port Richey man jailed in dispute

The resident is charged with assault and battery after allegedly pointing a gun at his neighbor while complaining about fireworks shot at his house.

By ALEX LEARY
Published July 6, 2004

PORT RICHEY - Todd Gosk's eyes were skyward, absorbed in the red, green, orange, white and blue bursts of Independence Day. In an instant, he worried about a much closer blast.

Like point blank.

"I didn't even see him there. One minute I'm looking up in the air, and the next thing, there's a gun pointed at my head," Gosk said.

The barrel pressed against his lips.

"Stop shooting fireworks at my house," the man with the weapon mumbled. It was just after 9 p.m. Sunday.

"He seemed like he could have been drunk," Gosk said Monday. "I didn't know how to react. I just kind of froze."

Steven Lauro, who lives across from the Hyperion Drive house where Gosk was celebrating the Fourth, ran over and got the gun away from John M. Conaway, 44.

But Conaway went back to his house and armed himself with a 4-inch knife, his wife told sheriff's deputies, and headed outside to confront neighbors. Elaine Conaway and another neighbor, Todd Popen, wrestled him to the ground and took the knife away.

Popen restrained John Conaway until deputies arrived. Conaway was arrested on charges of aggravated assault and simple battery. He was being held Monday in county jail in lieu of $5,500 bail.

Conaway's wife told deputies he had consumed more than 12 beers and was upset with fireworks being set off near his house, 6334 Hyperion Drive.

Gosk, a 32-year-old physical therapist, said the entire neighborhood, part of Holiday Hill, seemed armed with fireworks, and they popped off all evening. A professional fireworks display exploded over nearby Gulfview Square Mall.

"You had to keep looking around to make sure people weren't shooting them at you," Gosk said, adding that he refrained from igniting some. "I've seen too many accidents. Being in therapy, you see people coming in with their hands blown up."

For whatever reason, Conaway chose Gosk to confront. Gosk assumed the handgun he said was pointed at his mouth was real and loaded. He feared Conaway was ready to fire.

"I was stunned," he said. "I've never even touched a gun in my life, let alone have one pointed at me."

The gun turned out to be a Crossman BB air pistol, according to an arrest report. But a deputy said the relative darkness (a few street lights were not working) led witnesses to think it was a firearm.

Conaway, who state records show has previous arrests in resisting an officer, DUI, and hit and run, told a deputy he never threatened anyone and only argued with neighbors after they launched fireworks at his house.

"He gets a little carried away when he drinks," Lauro said. "Other than that, he's a fantastic guy. This was a misunderstanding that got out of control."

[Last modified July 5, 2004, 21:59:05]