Man is shot through both arms

Authorities are searching for the shooter, whose identity is known, say relatives of the victim.

By TAMARA LUSH

© St. Petersburg Times, published April 27, 2000

SHADY HILLS -- Paul "Bubba" Roark paced near the truck in which his brother had just been shot.

A bullet pierced both of James Roark's arms at about 10 a.m. Wednesday, and he was flown to St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa. About an hour later, Paul Roark, his wife and a couple of co-workers were standing near the scene of the shooting, waiting for more information from Pasco sheriff's deputies, when his mobile phone rang.

Roark looked at the bystanders and mouthed: "It's him."

The voice on the other end, said Roark, was Bob Marshall. Roark said Marshall was the man who shot his brother. Roark held the phone away from his ear so his friends and a couple of reporters could hear.

The person on the other end said: "It was strictly a ----ing accident."

Roark paused a moment. "Yeah, it did, it went through both arms, Bob," Roark said, angry.

Pasco County sheriff's deputies are not releasing the name of the person who they think shot James Roark, but his brother is certain that he knows the man. The Roark brothers -- who own Roark Construction, a company that hauls "most anything" and fixes large trucks -- rent shop space from Marshall on Tiger Trail.

Marshall and his three sons, one of whom also is named Robert, live nearby on property located on Tiger Trail and the adjacent Little Ranch Road, according to neighbors and public documents.

In 1978, the elder Marshall was arrested by Tampa police and charged with aggravated assault, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. He was acquitted in 1979.

Paul Roark said Wednesday's altercation started when Bob Marshall asked James Roark to move some tools and equipment at the shop. Roark told Marshall that the tools and equipment were not his, and that he needed to finish his own work.

That's when Marshall went into a house and returned with a handgun, James Roark told his brother.

By this time, James Roark had climbed into his truck, and Marshall fired the gun once through the driver's side window, Paul Roark said. The bullet went through both James Roark's biceps, he said.

James Roark drove about a half-mile down Tiger Trail and stopped at the intersection of Peace Boulevard. There, he dialed both 911 and his brother on his mobile phone.

"Bubba, I've been shot," Paul Roark recalled his brother saying. As James Roark was treated for his wounds, Pasco sheriff's deputies combed nearby woods for the suspect. As of 7 p.m., deputies hadn't found the suspect.

"We know who he is, but we do not know where he is," sheriff's spokesman Jon Powers said of the suspect. "Hopefully, he will turn himself in."

Paul Roark said Wednesday night that deputies recovered a van, a gun and the mobile phone. Sheriff's officials didn't comment, saying the crime still was under investigation.

James Roark, who lives at 9120 Royal Palm Drive in New Port Richey, was released from the hospital at about 6 p.m., but family members intended to take him back because his wounds were bleeding, said Paul Roark.

He couldn't fathom that anyone -- especially his landlord -- would shoot his brother.

"I've known this man for two years," Roark said. "He's a regular old Joe. We're friends -- well, we were."

-- Tamara Lush is the police reporter in Pasco County. She can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6245 or (800) 333-7505, ext. 6245. Her e-mail address is lush@sptimes.com.

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