Deputy shoots, kills armed man

According to the Sheriff's Office, Deputy David Hoffman told the man to drop his gun. When he refused, Hoffman fired.

By ABBIE VANSICKLE, Times Staff Writer
Published November 13, 2007

TAMPA - Deputy David Hoffman went to Apartment 305 on Sunday night to answer a call about domestic violence.

From the apartment's doorway, the deputy looked to his left to see Wing Yan point a gun at him.

Hoffman told him to drop the gun. When he refused, Hoffman shot Yan, who died at the scene.

That's the account the deputy gave to the Hillsborough Sheriff's Office about the shooting at the Preserve at Deer Park, an apartment complex near New Tampa, said sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter.

Hoffman, 34, a five-year employee of the Sheriff's Office, was placed on paid administrative leave, standard procedure after a shooting.

Sheriff's Office policy says a deputy can shoot if the deputy or anyone else is in danger, Carter said.

Little information was available Monday about Yan, 37, or his girlfriend, Jacqueline Nutter, 35.

Deputies received a call to the second-story apartment at 15420 Livingston Ave.,in one of the matching beige buildings at the Preserve, at 10:55 p.m., Carter said.

The caller warned that Yan was armed.

Three deputies went to the apartment, Carter said.

Inside, deputies found Nutter and her 14-year-old daughter in another room. They also found a large knife that Yan had used to chop up Nutter's purse, Carter said.

Yan's name was released early Monday after investigators notified his next of kin, who live out of the state, she said.

Yan does not have a criminal record in Florida, state records show.

A woman who came to the door of the apartment late Monday morning declined to comment.

News researcher Angie Drobnic Holan contributed to this report. Abbie VanSickle can be reached at vansickle@sptimes.com or 813-226-3373.

[Last modified November 13, 2007, 00:04:48]