By Danny Valentine, Times Staff Writer
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
TAMPA — Hillsborough County sheriff's deputies have called a news conference Tuesday afternoon about a fatal shooting stemming from a dispute over skateboarders at a neighborhood basketball court in Valrico.
Chief Deputy Jose Docobo will provide an update during the 4:30 p.m. briefing.
Trevor Dooley, 69, and David James, 41, started arguing Sunday afternoon after Dooley confronted a boy riding a skateboard across a basketball court and James defended him, neighbors and authorities said.
The men got into a "physical confrontation," according to Hillsborough County sheriff's deputies. Dooley was carrying a gun, and James was fatally shot in front of his 8-year-old daughter, authorities said.
The Sheriff's Office has not named Dooley as a suspect or charged him with a crime. Authorities say they are still investigating who pulled the trigger and whether the shooting was justified.
Meanwhile, Dooley, a Hillsborough County school bus driver, was not driving his bus route Tuesday morning, a school district spokeswoman said.
He will cover administrative matters "as long as necessary," spokeswoman Linda Cobbe said. This includes answering phones and filing paperwork. Dooley and his wife, Patricia, who also drives a bus for the school district, called in sick Tuesday.
The morning after the shooting, Dooley drove his regular school bus route.
Cobbe said the Sheriff's Office did not notify the school district of Dooley's involvement in the shooting until after he finished his route.
Follow This Just In on Twitter.