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Wheelchair user chases victim and shoots him, officials say

By Helen Anne Travis, Times Staff Writer
In print: Tuesday, September 16, 2008

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DADE CITY — Sunday afternoon, a 60-year-old man in a motorized wheelchair chased after a neighbor, gun in hand, authorities say.

Harold Stephens and Terry Freeman, 49, used to be close, according to reports. But in April 2007, the men got into a fight over the price of a shed. It got so bad that day, Pasco deputies were called to quiet their shouting match.

Sunday, the Pasco Sheriff's Office was again called out to the east Dade City neighborhood where Freeman and Stephens live.

This time the fight involved more than words.

Witnesses told deputies that Stephens, who weighs 450 pounds, "aggressively" chased Freeman in his motorized wheelchair and shot him once in the left armpit, according to the arrest report.

Freeman was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa, where his condition was listed as stable Monday morning.

No one in Freeman's family could be reached for comment. Stephens was jailed and could not be reached.

Stephens told deputies he shot in self defense. Freeman was 3 or 4 feet in front him, the report said, and sitting on a motorcycle at a stop sign at River and Johns roads.

"If he was acting in self defense, why was (Freeman) shot in the back?" said Doug Tobin, a spokesman for the Sheriff's Office.

It didn't help Stephens' case that Saturday, he told another neighbor he was going to shoot Freeman, the report said.

Deputies don't know what the two men had been quarreling about Sunday.

But on April 18, 2007, Freeman sought a restraining order against his neighbor.

The next day, Stephens did the same.

In their petitions, they both wrote that a dispute had begun because Freeman wanted to charge $20 to move a shed Stephens had bought from him. Stephens didn't want to pay the fee.

Freeman said Stephens had threatened to shoot him, he worried about his family's safety.

Stephens said Freeman had threatened to burn down his house with him and his wife inside.

Both injunctions were dismissed on May 4, 2007.

Sunday, Stephens was sent to the Land O'Lakes jail charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. His bail was set at $10,000.

Times researcher Shirl Kennedy contributed to this report. Helen Anne Travis can be reached at htravis@sptimes.com or (813) 435-7312.