Digest

Man mystified by shots fired in the wee hours

By TIMES WIRES
Published July 14, 2007

ZEPHYRHILLS

Carl Lamonte, 47, was awake in his home on 20th Street at 1:30 a.m. Thursday. He heard a pop, and then another. It sounded like fireworks, he told Pasco deputies. The noises got closer to his home. They didn't sounds like bottle rockets anymore, they sounded like a gun. Then there was a thud, Lamonte said, like something hitting the house. Lamonte found a bullet in his bedroom wall. He told deputies it passed through his shed before hitting the house. Deputies found five 9mm casings on the road. No other houses had been damaged, the report said. Lamonte told deputies he had no enemies and hadn't received any threats. No arrests have been made.

DADE CITY

Intruder drops pants, is jailed

Julian Bala, 40, told Dade City police he had been drinking Thursday evening and entered a stranger's home to use the bathroom. From there it gets blurry. Bala said he didn't remember if he had walked around the home, shorts around his ankles, as he had been accused. Bala said he simply couldn't recall if he had asked the woman alone in the house for sex. The woman said she feared Bala would rape her and called the police. As of Friday, Bala was in the Land O'Lakes jail, charged with lewd and lascivious exhibition. Bala was held in lieu of $10,000 bail.

Kids under 12 eat for free at event

Morning Star Fishermen, Ann Kennedy and PrintSource Printing & Graphics will host a benefit barbecue and fish fry for Hospice AfterCare Services from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at Morning Star, 3336 Old Saint Joe Road. There will be tours of the aquatic center, plenty of food and kids younger than 12 can eat for free. The cost to attend is $25. To RSVP, call 727 916-0520 or (727) 736-1065.

COUNTYWIDE

Free course offers tips to teen drivers

The School Board and the sheriff are offering a free two-day class that will allow teenagers to learn driving skills from deputies. The Teen Driver Challenge will cover such techniques as vehicle skid recovery, evasive maneuvers and threshold braking. It will also go over teen crash facts and the dangers of drunken driving. Potential students, ages 16 or 17, must have a valid operator's license and their own vehicle. Classes will take place at Land O'Lakes High School from noon to 4 p.m. July 26 and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. July 27. The registration deadline is July 23. Those interested may call Cpl. Dan Olds at (813) 929-1376, or e-mail dolds@pascosheriff.org.

[Last modified July 13, 2007, 23:14:22]