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Man found slain in roadway

The Sheriff's Office did not disclose the nature of the slaying nor his identity, but neighbors say the Hispanic man had been shot.

By GINA PACE
Published July 19, 2006

TOMMYTOWN - A man was killed early Tuesday morning and left in a dirt street intersection of Tommytown. Neighbors said the man had been shot in the head, although authorities would not confirm how he died.

The identity of the Hispanic man in his 40s had not been released Tuesday afternoon. Deputies found a wallet with identification on the body, but wanted to verify the identity with relatives, said sheriff's spokesman Doug Tobin.

It is the second shooting this month within five blocks in Tommytown, and residents said they are getting fearful.

Emilio Perez, 26, of Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico, was shot at his apartment at 14860 17th St. on July 3, after an argument. Eduardo Sarbia, 24, is a suspect in the case, but Tobin said no arrests have been made.

"Quite a few people have been getting hurt around here," said William Wright, 44, who lives at the corner of Blanton and Hutchinson streets, one block from where the body was found Tuesday morning. "It makes you wonder about staying in your house after dark."

The slaying was reported at 6 a.m. at the intersection of Blanton and Bowman streets.

"Somebody drove by and happened to see an individual in the roadway and called it in," Tobin said.

Diane Fussell, 44, who lives nearby, said that about 4:50 a.m. she heard a shot that was so loud she thought it was a shotgun. She didn't go outside, though, because "gunshots are almost normal in this neighborhood."

Crystal Johnson, 22, who also lives on Blanton, said she heard a bang, but didn't get out of bed because she mistook it for someone trespassing in her yard.

"If I would have looked outside, I probably would have seen someone running away," she said.

This is the 13th homicide the Sheriff's Office has investigated so far this year, Tobin said, compared with 13 for all of 2005. Three of those have been in the Dade City area.

"This is the third or fourth murder that's happened recently, and every one of them seems to be getting closer," said Nicole Fussell, 21, Diane's daughter. "It's starting to worry me."

Times staff writer Thomas Lake contributed to this report.

[Last modified July 18, 2006, 22:50:17]