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Transit appointee jailed in shooting

By BILL VARIAN
Published November 9, 2005

VALRICO - A man accused of shooting his fiancee's ex-husband during the weekend is a recent Hillsborough government appointee to the county's transit agency.

David Jonathan Heckman, 61, a retired 32-year employee with the Florida Department of Transportation who once ran unsuccessfully for the Hillsborough County Commission, was supposed to attend his first Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority meeting Monday. Instead, he was in jail on a charge of attempted second-degree murder.

Heckman was also recently appointed by Commissioner Brian Blair to serve on a separate group studying ways to improve bus service in unincorporated areas.

"It's a shame," said Blair, who added that he will immediately seek a new appointment to the study group.

Commission Chairman Jim Norman, who was not one of the four commissioners who voted to appoint Heckman to the HARTline board, said he will seek a new nomination for that post.

"It's an unfortunate circumstance. But I believe the county will address it immediately," Norman said. "He's sort of incapacitated at this point, so I don't believe he can serve."

On his application to the commission to be a HARTline appointee, Heckman disclosed that he is bipolar, a mental condition that can result in wild mood and behavioral swings. Heckman wrote of the condition that it was "controlled completely by medication."

Heckman is accused of firing several shots outside his home, 3802 Castle Key Lane, before hitting his fiancee's ex-husband, Robert Carroll, 36, in the left thigh. Carroll arrived at the home shortly before midnight Sunday to deliver a new bike for his 14-year-old son, who lives there, according to the Sheriff's Office.

The two got into an argument when Heckman wouldn't let Carroll in. As Carroll drove away, Heckman allegedly threw a brass door handle at the car, causing $250 in damage, according to his arrest report.

Carroll reportedly got out of the car and went into the garage, knocking over garbage cans before grabbing a wooden flagpole and striking Heckman's car. Deputies said Heckman went into the house to retrieve a black revolver and fired several shots at Carroll. Carroll was taken to Tampa General Hospital for treatment of injuries that were not considered life-threatening, the report said.

Described by associates as a former U.S. Marine, Heckman was named the District 7 Manager of the Year in 1994 for the Transportation Department, according to his HARTline application, which does not say when he retired. He finished fifth in a five-way Democratic primary for the Hillsborough commission's District 4 that year.

Dee Williams, who heads the Sun City Center Republican Club and who knows Heckman, described him as "very gung-ho."

Heckman was involved in creating the group FAIR - Fair Action and Representation - which pressed unsuccessfully in 2000 for the county to create more commission seats that represent limited geographic areas, known as single-member districts. He also served on the Committee of 99, a citizens group appointed in the late 1990s to consider ways of meeting transportation needs.

Speaking as a representative of FAIR before the county's 2000 Charter Review Board, Heckman described himself as "IBC: I'm intense but controlled."

"He puts his teeth into things," said Michael Carducci, co-founder of FAIR. "He's a bulldog. He's a typical Marine."

In more recent years, Heckman has been active in other social causes. Two years ago, he appeared at Madstone Theaters to protest a screening of commercials aimed at increasing voter participation among gays and lesbians.

"You're a bunch of sick people," he was quoted in the St. Petersburg Times as shouting at people attending the event. "You can go to hell, because you're going there anyway."

HARTline spokeswoman Jill Cappadoro generally declined comment.

"This is a matter for Hillsborough County," she said. "He's their appointee, so it's up to them to resolve."

Times staff writer Rebecca Catalanello and researcher Cathy Wos contributed to this report.

[Last modified November 9, 2005, 00:38:07]