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Deputies' marked cars in cross hairs

Take-home cruisers parked in Largo have been targeted. Two houses were hit by bullets.

By JACOB H. FRIES
Published April 11, 2006

LARGO - Usually, the sight of a squad car will send criminals running.

On several recent nights, it attracted them.

Three times since February, a deputy's marked cruiser has been the target of a drive-by shooting while parked outside the deputy's home, sheriff's Maj. Steve Allen said Monday.

None of the shootings caused injury, but in two of the cases, bullets penetrated the deputy's house, said Allen, commander of the sheriff's Investigative Operations Bureau.

"There were some close calls," he said. "It's very concerning to us. Any time a law enforcement officer is targeted, it's kind of an attack on the whole system."

The first shooting occurred at 2:27 a.m. on Feb. 7. The other two followed after midnight on March 30, about eight minutes apart.

Allen would not identify the type of gun used or say how many bullets were fired.

The shootings took place in the area of Largo bound by Walsingham Road to West Bay Drive and 113th Street to Indian Rocks Road. The home addresses of the deputies were not made public.

Investigators have found no connection among the individual deputies, besides the fact they all drive marked sheriff's vehicles and had parked them outside of their homes. Patrol deputies and members of the agency who are called to scenes drive take-home cars.

The Sheriff's Office has informed employees of the shootings, advising them to be cautious, but no policies have changed regarding take-home vehicles, Allen said.

"I can't think of this happening before," the major said.

If arrested, those involved could face charges of shooting into an occupied dwelling, a second-degree felony.

[Last modified April 11, 2006, 02:30:31]