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Man killed, his cousin injured

The two men, both 18 and Mexican immigrants, had just moved into a mobile home two days ago.

By MOLLY MOORHEAD
Published November 29, 2005

DADE CITY - The men, cousins from Mexico, moved into the mobile home just days ago.

Monday night, one was dead and the other hospitalized.

The Pasco County Sheriff's Office continued its investigation Tuesday into the homicide at 37412 Carringer Road, Lot 7. Neighbors heard commotion coming from the trailer about 10:30 p.m. Monday, followed by two gunshots. When deputies arrived, a man was dead inside.

The Sheriff's Office has not released the name of the victim, his cause of death or information about any suspects.

Christina Lancaster, who lives in the Lock Street area, said she has known the victim since he arrived last year from Mexico. She declined to give his name but said he was a good friend who loved music and video games.

"I've never known him to have enemies," Lancaster, 26, said.

She said the man and his cousin, both around 18 years old, were attending Moore Mickens Education Center, trying to learn English and earn their high school equivalency.

Lancaster drove the men to school every day and picked them up.

"The way I felt, I'd help them as long as they helped themselves," she said.

The two had just moved into Carringer Trailer Park, off U.S. 301 north of town. Owner Debbie Gilliard said she was planning to have them sign the lease Tuesday for the $600-a-month mobile home. She and her husband, Eric, had recently renovated the place, installing new floors and appliances.

But late Monday night, a neighbor called to say she'd heard gunshots. Gilliard, her husband and two sons went outside to check. Eric Gilliard and his 16-year-old son got in a truck and pulled into the yard next to the mobile home.

The door standing open, they could see someone lying on the floor covered in blood, Gilliard said. They came back and called 911.

Gilliard and Lancaster both said the men were in the United States illegally. Gilliard rented to them anyway.

"Everybody needs a place to stay," she said.

Lancaster said that after the shooting, the dead man's cousin found a way back to his father's apartment off Lock Street. Badly injured, he was later taken to St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa.

St. Joseph's spokesman Will Darnell said he had no information about the patient.

The mobile home, an old structure with a sagging roof, lies at the end of a shady dirt road. Gilliard said several residents of the 10-unit park had lived there for years.

By Tuesday afternoon, detectives had finished collecting evidence. A blue tarp lay on the floor where the body had been.

Lancaster said she still couldn't believe her friend was dead after just his second night in his new home.

"He's only been here for two days," she said. "That's what blows my mind."

[Last modified November 29, 2005, 18:22:02]