Mom arrives to find son shot by deputy

Authorities say the 19-year-old rammed a deputy's car and led the officer on a chase.

By MICHAEL SANDLER and AMY WIMMER

© St. Petersburg Times, published October 30, 2000

CLEARWATER -- At 7:15 a.m. Saturday, as Myra Essex drove along State Road 580 on her way to work at a Clearwater nursing home, she noticed her son's red Mazda on the sidewalk and jumped from her truck.

She had spent sleepless hours on her living room couch the night before, worried about the 19-year-old who hadn't come back from a late-night birthday party. At the sight of the wrecked car, she cried, screamed and told a deputy the car was her son's.

The deputy took her by the hand. "Your son ran away from the cops," the deputy said, "and they shot him."

Essex's son, Dennis Casanova, was recovering Sunday from three gunshot wounds at St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa. She said he felt well enough Sunday afternoon to watch some football on television.

But aside from being a patient, Casanova also is an inmate, charged with aggravated assault on a police officer. He is being closely guarded by Hillsborough deputies.

According to authorities, Casanova rammed Pinellas sheriff's Deputy Kris Lutz's patrol car at about 3 a.m. Saturday, then sped off, leading the deputy on a 2-mile car chase. Minutes later, the two cars collided and Lutz shot Casanova.

Officials released no other details on the shooting. They said investigators plan to interview Lutz today. No weapons were found on Casanova, though he did have beer in his car and was carrying his 23-year-old brother's driver's license, said sheriff's spokesman Greg Tita.

That brother, Mike Casanova of New Port Richey, gathered with friends and family members Sunday at St. Joseph's. Deputies would not allow anyone to see Dennis Casanova, who was in intensive care but listed as stable.

"Just because he's in the hospital doesn't mean he gets visitation," said Sgt. Ron Reder, a spokesman for the Hillsborough Sheriff's Office, who said Pinellas investigators asked the Hillsborough agency not to allow Casanova any visitors. "He's a prisoner."

Casanova's family plans to contact an attorney to inquire about Casanova's rights as a suspect and a patient. His father, Ruben Casanova, drove from Miami to Tampa on Sunday to see his son, but went home disappointed.

"I wish they would let me see him through the glass," said Essex, his mother. "But no, nothing."

Reder said the visitation rules depend on several factors, including the chance of the suspect escaping.

Casanova has a criminal record. He was jailed Sept. 4 and charged with five counts of fleeing from officers and one count each of reckless driving, leaving the scene of an accident involving property damage, driving with a suspended license and carrying a concealed weapon.

Those charges are pending in court.

In July, Lutz, 40, was among four deputies cleared in the death of a 44-year-old Largo man. They had just finished restraining Gerry Wayne Myers when he stopped breathing.

A medical examiner later concluded Myers died from heart disease, and State Attorney Bernie McCabe decided the deputies had not used excessive force.

In 1996, Lutz shot and killed a Labrador retriever in Safety Harbor when it attacked him during a chase.

"If they don't do something, he's going to kill somebody," Essex said. "He's the one who belongs in jail, not my son."

Casanova is a first-generation American, the first in his family to be born in the United States after his parents immigrated from Cuba 20 years ago. He graduated from Tarpon Springs High School this year and attends St. Petersburg Junior College.

His brother Mike said Dennis Casanova hoped to go into sports medicine.

Mike Casanova also described what he understands about his brother's injuries, saying one bullet grazed his lip, another grazed his back, and a third gunshot "exploded his face -- all his teeth, his tongue, his lip, his jaw."

The incident that ended with the shooting began outside a florist's shop at Belcher Road and Dunedin's Main Street, which turns into State Road 580. Casanova's headlights were off, and as Lutz approached in his patrol car, Casanova's Mazda came at him in reverse and hit the deputy's car, authorities said.

Casanova's car headed east on SR 580 in reverse, then spun around and continued east with the deputy in pursuit. About 2 miles away, at SR 580 and Charles Avenue, the two vehicles collided.

Lutz, who suffered a concussion, was treated at Countryside Hospital and released that night. He is on administrative leave while the Sheriff's Office investigates the incident.

Dawn Barclay, who lives at 2723 SR 580 in Clearwater, near the collision, said she witnessed part of the altercation between the deputy and Casanova.

She said she jumped out of bed and ran to the living room when squealing tires roused her from sleep, and looked out the window in time to see Casanova "falling to the ground."

Barclay said she thinks the deputy fired a five shots at Casanova from his patrol car.

"It's like a bad dream," said Essex, recalling the sight of his car on the sidewalk. "In that moment, I don't see anything. I only want to know what happened."

- Information from Times files was used in this report.

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