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Plane story falls apart

Officials say the man was shot by BBs and the wounds may have been self-inflicted.

By JONATHAN ABEL, Times Staff Writer
Published October 24, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT [Courtesy of WCNC-TV, Charlotte, N.C.] William J. Notaro is taken from Charlotte-Douglas International Airport to a local hospital by paramedics.

A Clearwater man who made news over the weekend for telling authorities he took a plane trip after being shot was actually hit by BBs, not bullets, authorities said Tuesday.

What's more, William J. Notaro's injuries appear to have been self-inflicted, not the result of a domestic spat, Pinellas County sheriff's officials said.

And, the Sheriff's Office added, Notaro was likely intoxicated at the time he was wounded.

On Saturday, Notaro, 37, boarded a US Airways flight from Tampa to Charlotte, N.C., on his way to Albany, N.Y.

During a layover in Charlotte he asked for some Band-Aids to treat his wounds, which bled through his shirt. He said an ex-girlfriend wielding a .22-caliber pistol shot him.

Airline officials sent Notaro to the hospital. He was treated and sent on his way.

Detectives in Pinellas County and Albany interviewed Notaro and received inconsistent accounts of what happened.

He told authorities in Albany he was shot by a friend; he told Pinellas deputies he shot himself with a BB gun.

Authorities said they determined the shooting took place at a friend's unit in the Windemere Apartments on Main Street in Dunedin.

Because Notaro changed his story so many times, the Sheriff's Office said it will refer the case to the Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney's Office to consider whether to charge him with filing a false police report.

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

[Last modified October 23, 2007, 22:36:28]