Clearwater officer fires shots, but home intruder gets away

By JONATHAN ABEL, Times Staff Writer
Published December 20, 2007

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TARPON SPRINGS - The knock on the door came while Clearwater police Officer Eliad Glenn was in the shower.

When he didn't answer the door, a man forced his way into Glenn's house through a side door.

Glenn, 29, grabbed his gun and fired a single shot at the intruder, missing him. The man then fled in a waiting maroon or red sedan.

Glenn fired at the car, too, and may or may not have hit it, Tarpon Springs police Lt. Barbara Templeton said.

The incident took place at 12:17 p.m. near Meres Boulevard and Carlton Road and appears to be connected to a nearby burglary.

Just before the break-in at Glenn's home, someone broke into a house three doors down and stole wrapped Christmas presents, Templeton said. The two houses between that one and Glenn's were both vacant. Police believe the intruder was just going up and down the street looking for houses where no one was home.

Glenn, a Clearwater police officer for nearly a year, has been placed on administrative leave while the incident is reviewed, Clearwater police spokeswoman Elizabeth Daly-Watts said.

Tarpon police described the intruder as a black man in his 20s, standing about 5 feet 11 to 6 feet 1, with a medium build. He had a short Afro and a light mustache. He was wearing blue jeans with gray boxers and a black hooded sweatshirt.

The car was a late-model, four-door sedan similar to a Toyota Camry, a Mercury Milan or a Nissan Altima. It had tinted windows and might now have bullet holes in the rear.

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

How to help

If you have information

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call Tarpon Springs police detectives at (727) 938-2849.