Pipe attack victim dies; charges to be upgraded

By Times Staff Writer
Published September 2, 2005

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ST. PETERSBURG - A 24-year-old St. Petersburg man who was struck in the head several times with a 12-inch metal pipe Sunday has died.

Authorities plan to bring murder charges against his roommate.

Leonard Norton of 3331 45th St. S died Tuesday night at Bayfront Medical Center, two days after he was attacked during an argument over a car. His roommate, Adrian Carl Guzman, 23, was held in the Pinellas County Jail without bail.

Guzman was charged with attempted murder because Norton was alive when Guzman was arrested on Sunday. Now that Norton has died, police and prosecutors are trying to decide whether to charge Guzman with first or second-degree murder, said Bill Proffitt, a spokesman for the St. Petersburg Police Department.

Guzman and Norton lived together at 3331 45th Street S. The two men began arguing because Norton loaned Guzman's girlfriend's car to his own girlfriend, and Guzman wanted the car back, Proffitt said.