Drug charges compound man's woes

By MICHAEL A. MOHAMMED
Published July 13, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT [Times photo: Chris Zuppa] Damien Perez grieves for the loss of his girlfriend, Cecelia DeButts, in his Ruskin home. "I don't know where to pick up the pieces," Perez said. This is the best, coolest person I've ever known," he added of his girlfriend.

TAMPA - A Ruskin man faces drug charges following his girlfriend's death in a handgun accident, said Hillsborough sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter.

Deputies arrested Damien Perez, 28, Wednesday after previously finding about $300 to $400 worth of marijuana, a scale and Ziploc bags in his home, Carter said.

Investigators searched the home after the July 2 death of his girlfriend, Cecelia DeButts, 27, when a loaded gun he had handed her went off.

Perez of 105 Shell Point Road faces charges of possession of marijuana with intent to sell, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of marijuana.

Deputies waited nine days to arrest him because "we knew where he was, and it wasn't like he was going anywhere," Carter said. "At that point, he had been devastated, and we needed a chance to take care of that situation."

Investigators do not suspect foul play in DeButts' death, Carter said.

[Last modified July 12, 2007, 23:33:15]