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Deputies say Wimauma felon accidentally shoots himself in leg

 
Tampa Bay Times
Published Sept. 11, 2013

WIMAUMA — A felon prohibited from owning a gun accidentally shot himself Monday morning, deputies say.

Mark Cruz, 26, was shot once in the leg when his .22-caliber gun fell out of his pocket and fired after hitting the ground, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.

Interviewed at the hospital, he was uncooperative with deputies and refused to say where he got rid of the gun. He would only say that he tossed it in a lake, deputies say.

During the investigation, deputies determined Cruz is a felon and prohibited from owning or possessing a firearm. He was released from South Bay Hospital and taken to the Hillsborough County jail on charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm, carrying a concealed firearm and tampering with or destroying evidence.

This is his eleventh arrest in Florida, state records show. He completed two prison sentences, the last one in 2012, for aggravated assault with a weapon and trafficking cocaine.