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Hillsborough deputy, firefighter firing weapons hit house in 'terrible accident'

 
Published Jan. 28, 2015

LITHIA — A Hillsborough sheriff's deputy and a firefighter could find themselves in hot water after some recreational target shooting went awry last weekend.

Sheriff's officials say Scott Radford, 33, of Hillsborough County Fire Rescue, and Hillsborough sheriff's Deputy Paul Adee, 25, were firing guns behind Radford's house when some bullets apparently hit a neighbor's home on the 3800 block of Porter Road in Lithia, a community in east Hillsborough. The properties abut each other.

Dawn Bryan told deputies that bullets hit her house, pool enclosure and a window, shattering it shortly before 11 a.m. Saturday.

No charges have been filed. An investigation is continuing, sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter said.

"Apparently, there is a berm behind the house and that's what they were shooting at," she said. "They didn't know they had hit anything. They were shooting at the berm."

Radford said that three or four men were in his back yard firing an AK-47 and AR-15 rifles and handguns.

If any bullets struck Bryan's house, they might have ricocheted off trees, he said.

"There are 300 yards and trees between our houses. It wasn't like we drove by and shot at her house," he said.

He said he and Adee spoke with Bryan after the incident and apologized.

"It was a terrible accident, and we're handling it between homeowners," he said.

Radford said he told Bryan he was sorry for the bullet holes, "if I was responsible." He also offered to cover repair costs.

Radford is a Fire Medic 1. He joined Hillsborough Fire Rescue in November 2005 and has received consistently high marks on annual employee evaluations, records show.

Adee, a sheriff's deputy since 2012, works at the county jail on Orient Road in Tampa. He is the son of sheriff's Maj. Paul Adee. His personnel records were unavailable Tuesday.

Radford denied any favoritism by investigators because he and Adee are public servants. "Why brush it under the rug?" he said. "If anything, they would investigate us more."

Both men remain on active duty as the investigation continues.

Efforts to reach Bryan were unsuccessful Tuesday.

It's unclear how authorities would charge the two men. Florida law allows guns to be fired in residential areas except when that person "recklessly or negligently" fires the weapon.

Carter said she is unsure how long the investigation will take.

Times staff writer Dan Sullivan contributed to this report. Contact Rich Shopes at rshopes@tampabay.com or (813) 225-3110. Follow @richshopes.