Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

3 wounded in St. Petersburg shootout

By LEONORA LaPETER
Published January 27, 2005

ST. PETERSBURG - Three people were wounded early Thursday in a shootout on 13th Avenue S, including a 16-year-old father of two who was shot 10 times.

Police arrived just after 3:30 a.m. to find Stephen J. Simmons, 31, of 1209 James Avenue S, lying in a driveway with a gunshot wound. He told officers he'd been shot across the street at 967 13th Avenue S.

Police entered the small cream-colored house with red trim and found signs of illegal drug use, said Bill Proffitt, a spokesman for the St. Petersburg Police Department.

They then found the 16-year-old, Roman Callaway, of 4670 13th Ave. S, on the ground, just east of the house. A third man, Gaverne N. Powell, 29, also had been shot.

All three men were taken to Bayfront Medical Center.

Elaine Callaway Seay, 45, said her son was shot 10 times, mostly in the upper torso but one shot hit his forehead and another his ear.

"He's not doing too good, he's in critical condition," she said. "They're scared to do surgery. Two bullets are still lodged in his head. He's alert, by the grace of God. He can see me out of one eye."

According to police, two men arrived in a Blue Star cab at the 13th Avenue S residence minutes before the shooting. One of them robbed the cab driver, but the driver did not report it to police.

Once inside the residence, a dispute erupted and shots were fired. None of the three men who were shot lived at the house, Proffitt said.

[Last modified January 27, 2005, 19:50:02]