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2 indicted in fatal shooting

The son of a slain Palm Harbor man and an acquaintance face first-degree murder charges.

By Times Staff Writer
Published January 19, 2006

A grand jury Wednesday indicted two men in the 2003 shooting death of Palm Harbor resident David J. Lunz, but Pinellas County sheriff's officials said they want to talk to the person who found the clue that broke open the case.

The grand jury handed up first-degree murder indictments against the victim's son, Christopher Lunz, 38, and an acquaintance from North Carolina, 25-year-old William Westerman.

Sheriff's officials have said the two traveled from Jackson County, N.C., to Palm Harbor to rob David Lunz, 56, who lived in the Sunshine Estates neighborhood near Lake Tarpon.

Instead, detectives have said, David Lunz put up a fight. During the struggle, Christopher Lunz was holding a sawed-off shotgun, but he handed it to Westerman and told him to shoot David Lunz, according to court records. Westerman shot the elder Lunz in the head, killing him, authorities say.

In announcing the indictments, sheriff's officials said they are interested in talking to whoever found a .38-caliber Smith and Wesson in Cedar Cliff Lake in Jackson County on Oct. 29.

"I think what the detectives are looking to do is just basically enhance the chain of custody of that gun for evidentiary purposes," Pinellas County sheriff's spokesman Mac McMullen said Wednesday night.

The lake's water had receded, revealing the gun on the lake bottom. The person who found the weapon turned it over to emergency medical services personnel, who in turn gave it to the Jackson County Sheriff's Office, McMullen said. In preparation for a trial, detectives want to establish who handled the gun from the time it was found.

After the gun was found, a computer check revealed the gun had been reported stolen from David Lunz. Investigators were then able to link the gun to Westerman through forensic tests and witness accounts, authorities have said.

When questioned, Westerman admitted he and Christopher Lunz had driven to Palm Harbor to kill David Lunz, officials have said.

In addition to seeking information here, Pinellas sheriff's officials are trying to publicize their desire to speak to the person who found the gun in North Carolina, McMullen said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Pinellas County sheriff's homicide unit at (727) 582-6200, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-873-8477, or the Jackson County Sheriff's Office or the Macon County Sheriff's Office in North Carolina.

[Last modified January 19, 2006, 01:48:21]