By Jessica Vander Velde, Shelley Rossetter and Danny Valentine, Times Staff Writers
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
TAMPA — After two days of public outcry, Hillsborough sheriff's deputies arrested a 69-year-old man Tuesday on a manslaughter charge in the fatal shooting of an Air Force veteran on a Valrico basketball court.
School bus driver Trevor Dooley was led in handcuffs from his home on Partridge Point Trail at about 3:30 p.m. and booked into the Hillsborough County jail.
David James, 41, was killed Sunday in front of his 8-year-old daughter. The shooting stemmed from a dispute over skateboarders.
"The suspect fired the gun. There's no indication the victim pulled the trigger," sheriff's Chief Deputy Jose Docobo said in a news conference Tuesday afternoon.
Dooley, who is not cooperating with authorities and has made no statement about the incident, also faces charges of improper exhibition of a firearm and openly carrying a firearm, Docobo said.
Kanina James, widow of the victim, said she was pleased there was an arrest in the case but said a manslaughter charge is inadequate.
"I want it to be first-degree murder," she said.
The Hillsborough State Attorney's Office ultimately determines what charges will be filed.
Spokesman Mark Cox said he could not discuss the office's decision, simply saying that, "after a careful evaluation of the evidence and review of witness statements, it was determined to charge the defendant with manslaughter, improper exhibition of a firearm and openly carrying a firearm."
Dooley and James started arguing after Dooley confronted a boy riding a skateboard across a basketball court and James defended him, neighbors and authorities have said.
Investigators believe Dooley pulled a gun out of his waistband and then he and James struggled over it, sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter said. The two men wound up on the ground.
Before the struggle for the weapon, there was no physical confrontation, Docobo said, clarifying the agency's position that the shooting would not be defensible under Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law.
In fact, it appears James was defending himself, not the other way around, Docobo said.
"The victim wasn't armed. There was no indication he was armed," Docobo said. "It's apparent from the interviews that he was at least trying to defend himself, if not trying to disarm Mr. Dooley at the same time."
Investigators found a pocket knife at the scene, but there's no indication it was ever in the victim's possession, he said.
Tuesday's news conference marked the first time the Sheriff's Office publicly named Dooley as the suspect.
Docobo said initial accounts of the shooting had varied.
Authorities said they were investigating who pulled the trigger or whether the shooting was justified.
Dooley's wife couldn't understand why Dooley wasn't arrested right away. Others have expressed disbelief, and Docobo said he understands why they might be upset.
"From an emotional standpoint it's difficult to understand why someone who brings a gun to a park and shoots and kills someone isn't arrested (right away)," Docobo said. "We have to let cool heads prevail and not let emotions cloud our judgment."
Dooley could face up to 30 years in prison if convicted of manslaughter. The Sheriff's Office said Dooley faces a charge of improper exhibition of a firearm because he walked out of his house with a gun in his waistband and a charge of openly carrying a firearm because he took the gun to the basketball courts.
Jay Lovelace, who was David James' commander in Iraq and had come to help out the family, said Tuesday the couple's 8-year-old daughter has been crying, unable to sleep and asking questions about the shooting.
On the way to a McDonald's, they had passed a basketball court. "That's a basketball court like the one where my daddy was shot," he recalled she had said.
The morning after the shooting, Dooley returned to his job as a Hillsborough County school bus driver.
District spokeswoman Linda Cobbe said Monday the Sheriff's Office did not notify the school district of Dooley's connection to the shooting incident.
"We screwed up. It's just that simple," Docobo said, when asked about that decision.
He said there was no legal reason to tell the school, but he noted that it should have happened.
"I think common sense should have prevailed here," he said.
Dooley did not drive his bus route Tuesday morning, Cobbe said. He and his wife, Patricia, who also drives a bus for the school district, called in sick.
Because of his arrest, Dooley will be put on paid leave pending further evaluation by the human resources department, a common course of action when employees are arrested, Cobbe said.
Times staff writer Robbyn Mitchell contributed to this report.