PORT RICHEY — Dale Massad usually kept his .40-caliber Glock handgun in the center console of his 2005 Ford pickup truck.
With the truck locked and parked inside his garage, the former City Council member figured the weapon was safely stowed away.
But at some point, a friend who had access to his garage and knew the truck's keypad code took the weapon.
And on May 26, Timothy Louis Walker used Massad's gun to kill himself.
Walker, 48, of 5275 Miller Bayou Drive, shot himself in the head inside his neighbor's home, according to a report from the Port Richey Police Department.
Massad said Walker had been depressed. Two days before he killed himself, Walker was pulled over about 4 a.m. and arrested on a DUI charge — his first criminal offense.
Massad, who lost a bid for a third council term last year, said he thinks Walker took the gun from his home a few days before the suicide.
"He had to have stolen the gun before Sunday, so maybe the Friday before," said Massad, 58. "He came over, and we had a cocktail. He knew how to get into my garage."
The following Tuesday, May 26, Massad said he was heading home from a restaurant when he discovered the gun was missing.
"Every once in a while, I check, and I looked and couldn't find it," said Massad, who is allowed to store the weapon in the console because he has a concealed-weapons permit. "I pulled onto the side of the road and still couldn't find it. I went home and looked everywhere."
At 11:53 a.m., Massad reported an auto burglary to Port Richey police, who determined the gun was the only thing stolen from the truck. There was no forced entry into his home or the truck, according to a report on the incident.
About 2 p.m. that day, Walker's father, Louis Grounds, approached Massad outside his house. Grounds said his son had locked himself in a neighbor's house.
"I went over and banged on the door and yelled," Massad said, "and then I told him we had to call 911."
Soon after, a Port Richey police officer responded to a welfare check at 5269 Miller Bayou Drive.
Grounds told the officer that Walker left a message on his answering machine earlier saying he was sorry for leaving the neighbor's home "a mess," the police report said.
Grounds told the officer that Walker might be inside the neighbor's house because the electricity had been turned off at Walker's home, the report said.
Walker had the only set of keys to get inside the house, which he sometimes watched for the neighbor, so the officer forced his way into the front door.
Walker, wearing a red T-shirt, black shorts and brown shoes, was found sitting in a chair with a bullet wound to his head. A .40-caliber Glock handgun was in his right hand, the report said.
Police matched the serial number from Massad's missing gun to the one Walker used to kill himself.
Walker's family could not be reached for comment.
Massad said Walker used to work at a Ford dealership and had helped him get an extended warranty on his vehicle about six months ago. He said that may have been the first time Walker learned the keypad code to Massad's truck, although he said Walker was a "car guy" who could have figured out the code on his own.
Massad said Walker talked about purchasing a gun several times in recent months. Massad was unsure whether he wanted it for his own protection or because he was having suicidal thoughts.
Massad said Walker's death is an isolated incident, and that he feels remorseful for his friend's family.
"It's a tragedy," Massad said. "It just so happens that this happened with my gun."
Camille C. Spencer can be reached at (813) 909-4609 or cspencer@sptimes.com.
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