Chance find led to gun tragedy

The teen was looking for cigarettes. He found a gun kept by his aunt's boyfriend.

By THOMAS LAKE, Times Staff Writer
Published August 25, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT Roger Foote, 42, is charged with culpable negligence, a felony.

MOON LAKE - Here are a few things you should not know about Joseph Coonradt, unless you knew them already.

He was a strong boy, 16 years old, handy with mulching and pulling weeds, eager to swim in the Weeki Wachee River. He made meat loaf with bread crumbs and eggs and Italian seasoning, following his late grandmother's recipe. He liked riding his bike through the unpaved streets of his neighborhood, where the dust rises up and paints the palmettos white.

If you did not know Joseph, then you know these things now only because of the object he found Wednesday afternoon, in his aunt's bedroom, in an unlocked wooden box. This object is the reason a man is now in jail.

It is also the reason Joseph is dead.

And it is, of course, the reason you are reading this story. Sometimes people make the news not because they lived a good life, or a bad one, but simply because of their manner of death.

The man's name is Roger Foote. He is 42 years old, with a history of small-time crime, and he has been seeing Joseph's aunt. He was arrested Friday and charged with culpable negligence, a felony, and held in lieu of $5,000 bail, because the thing in the box was his:

A black 9mm handgun.

Joseph loved his grandmother. She kept him pretty close. But she died a couple of years ago, and he took it hard, and lately he'd been running away a lot.

His aunt, Josette Shambeau, said that Wednesday afternoon, she left for the grocery store to get some ribs to barbecue and she left her 11-year-old son, Christopher, in care of Joseph's mother, who lives next door.

Anyway, Joseph turned up from running away again, and he and Christopher were pals, and before long the two of them got into Christopher's house by themselves.

This information comes secondhand, from Christopher through his mother, who spoke to the St. Petersburg Times on Friday. Joseph wanted cigarettes, and he went in the bedroom to snoop around. He found the wooden box on the dresser near the jewelry. He opened it and the boys found the gun. Boys like to think about and talk about and play with guns if they are given the chance.

The boys took the gun into the kitchen and they were playing around and Joseph had it and he pointed it at his own head.

It made a loud sound.

The gun was in the house for a good reason, Joseph's aunt said: Her boyfriend wanted to keep them safe.

Thomas Lake can be reached at tlake@sptimes.com or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6245.

Fast Facts:

WESLEY CHAPEL

MAN ARRESTED IN THEFTS FROM POLICE CAR

Pasco deputies have arrested a man they say stole almost $2,000 worth of weapons and ammunition from an unmarked Tampa Police Department vehicle early Wednesday. John Wayne Worrell, 26, told deputies he "hit the jackpot" when he broke into the detective's car, which had been parked in her Wesley Chapel driveway, according to the Sheriff's Office report. He later told deputies he sold the detective's 9mm gun for drugs, the report said. Worrell, of 37537 Waverly Ave. in Zephyrhills, has also been charged in a string of burglaries and car break-ins on Sky Lake Circle and Middleground Loop in Wesley Chapel. He remained at the Land O'Lakes jail Friday with bail set at $165,000.

LAND O'LAKES

S.R. 54 median? Just maintenance

Drivers along State Road 54 may notice the median between Collier Parkway and U.S. 41 has turned into a pile of dirt. No, it's not the much-touted $17-million project to widen the road to six lanes. That's a project to be done by the developers of the Cypress Creek Town Center mall, and is supposed to be completed by the time the mall opens in fall 2008. The word from their engineers is that work is due to start next year. The brown-out motorists are seeing now is just routine shoulder maintenance to unclog the road's drainage, said Kris Carson, spokeswoman for the state Department of Transportation.

Shooting victim is identified

Pasco deputies have released the identity of a man shot Aug. 17 in Land O'Lakes. Michael Conley, 25, and Randall Young, 29, got into an argument outside Conley's home on Third Street. A neighbor heard gunshots and ran out to find Conley lying in his driveway, shot in the chest. Conley was flown to Tampa General Hospital. He was listed in fair condition Friday. Deputies charged Young with aggravated battery, He was released from the Land O'Lakes jail Aug. 18 on $10,000 bail.

Schools rated tops on Disability Act

The Pasco school district has received the highest possible rating for its compliance with the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The review came from a new Florida Department of Education report. "We are truly fortunate to have so many dedicated professionals working with our special education students to ensure the highest quality programs in the State of Florida," superintendent Heather Fiorentino said in a statement.

Have a gun?

Childproof gun locks are available free of charge at the Pasco County Sheriff's Office. For information, call spokesman Doug Tobin at 727 844-7732.

[Last modified August 24, 2007, 21:40:15]