Witnesses: Argument escalated to gunshot

By JONATHAN ABEL, Times Staff Writer
Published October 2, 2007

SAFETY HARBOR - Brandon Zieglmeier wasn't supposed to go out Friday night.

But at 5 p.m., his grandmother, Christine Thacker, relented and allowed him to join his friends on a quick trip to the store.

Half an hour went by. Then Thacker got a call from her grandson. He was hysterical; he said something terrible had happened and she'd better come to the hospital.

The five teens were heading from Clearwater to Oldsmar, officials say, when a 16-year-old boy in the backseat pulled out a handgun and shot the 17-year-old girl behind the wheel.

Deaonna Tarver, the victim, suffered a gunshot wound to the head. She is now recovering at Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg.

Meanwhile, the accused shooter, Alexander Page of Clearwater, faces a charge of attempted murder.

Authorities have not said what the argument was about, but through interviews with an eyewitness as well as friends and family of others in the car, a picture is emerging of an angry young man set off by a petty fight.

Both Tarver and Zieglmeier had been staying at Thacker's house on El Trinidad Drive E in Clearwater. The couple have been dating for two years, Thacker said.

Zieglmeier told his grandmother there had been an argument in the car about Page's girlfriend, who was not present, and Page became furious.

"He told them all to shut up or something's going to happen," Thacker said.

Page pulled the gun out of his waistband, Thacker said, and shot Tarver in the back of the head.

Thacker said she'd been told by the Tarver family that the .22-caliber bullet was stopped by the fatty tissue in the back of Tarver's head and that the bullet would not be removed. She said Tarver was conscious and talking, even asking for Zieglmeier.

Zieglmeier brought flowers to the hospital, but wasn't allowed to see his girlfriend.

James Torrey, 17, of New Port Richey, the front seat passenger, took the wheel and brought the car to a stop, according to the Sheriff's Office. Meanwhile, Page jumped from the car and ran. The Sheriff's Office said Torrey drove to Mease-Countryside Hospital in Clearwater while Tarver was placed in the passenger's seat.

Reached Monday, Torrey said the argument had to do with whether Tarver could beat up Page's girlfriend. Torrey said he couldn't say more because authorities had asked him not to talk about the shooting.

His cousin John Marzario, 16, of Oldsmar was the fifth person in the car.

Later that night, deputies arrested Page in Pinellas Park. The handgun used in the attack was found in a shed in Safety Harbor.

Bayfront Medical Center, where Tarver is hospitalized, would not release information about her condition.

The victim's father, Michael Tarver, said she was improving but declined to discuss specifics.

Both Tarver and Zieglmeier attend Bayside High School, a dropout prevention program in Clearwater.

Page dropped out of Clearwater High School a few weeks ago, according to the Sheriff's Office. Friends said he was going through a rough patch. Investigators said Page acknowledged shooting Tarver, but gave varying versions of what happened.

Jonathan Abel can be reached at jabel@sptimes.com or 727 445-4157.

[Last modified October 1, 2007, 21:44:28]