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Suspect shot by stolen weapon
Deputies learn of burglaries after a man tries to explain how he was shot.
By ABBIE VANSICKLE
Published November 5, 2005
HOMOSASSA - Sheriff's deputies accused Travis Benjamin Novak and Jonathan Robert Erlandson of snatching two rifles, several watches, a knife and a cigarette lighter shaped like a pistol from a Homosassa home.
A couple of days earlier, the men, along with Hugh Michael Reddick, took a motorcycle from that same property, deputies said.
The odd part is that deputies discovered the culprits when one of the men accidentally shot the other in the leg with one of the stolen rifles.
Novak, 18, and Erlandson, 22, were arrested Thursday evening on charges of armed burglary, unarmed burglary of an unoccupied structure and petit theft, according to an arrest report. Erlandson also faces a charge of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, Novak faces a charge of grand theft from $300 to $5,000.
Reddick, 20, faces charges of unarmed burglary of an unoccupied structure and petit theft, according to the report.
Authorities say the men went to 29-year-old Joseph Smith's home at 6270 S Lima Ave., on Nov. 1 between 9 p.m. and midnight. The men searched through two unlocked sheds in the rear of the property, authorities say. They took a Yamaha 125 motorcycle from outside one of the sheds and pushed it back to Reddick's home, according to the report.
On Nov. 3, deputies say, Novak and Erlandson returned to Smith's home.
This time, the men climbed through a window at the single-wide mobile home and searched through the house, deputies say. Deputies say the men picked up the rifles, watches, knife and lighter along their way.
The men left the house and went back to Reddick's home, where Erlandson tried to clear a jammed round from one of the rifles, deputies say. As he tried to fix it, the rifle discharged, sending a bullet into Novak's leg.
Deputies got a report about an accidental shooting. When they arrived, they asked Novak what happened. He told deputies two different stories before deputies learned about the burglaries.
Novak was taken to Citrus Memorial Hospital, where he was treated for his injury.
Bail for Reddick was set at $3,250. Bail for Novak was set at $32,250. Bail for Erlandson was set at $36,000.
Abbie VanSickle can be reached at 860-7312 or vansickle@sptimes.com
[Last modified November 5, 2005, 01:22:18]
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