PORT RICHEY — A woman shot an armed intruder as he broke into her house late Wednesday night, trying to get her boyfriend's drugs, deputies say.
According to the Pasco County Sheriff's Office, Anthony Capuano, 38, donned a mask and knocked on the door at 6912 Alta Vista Lane about 11 p.m. He was armed with a handgun. When Heidi Christophell, 22, wouldn't let him in, authorities say, he broke a window and began to crawl inside.
Christophell retrieved a gun belonging to her boyfriend, Steven Joseph Brown, from a bedroom and came back firing, authorities said. Capuano, a known member of the Latin Kings gang, fled in a white Chevy Impala and drove about 150 feet before crashing into a house on El Camino Real Avenue.
He was transported to a hospital with two gunshot wounds in his side and is currently listed in critical condition, the Sheriff's Office said.
When deputies responded to the Alta Vista Lane house to investigate, they found a pound of marijuana. Brown came home. Deputies arrested Brown, 21, on a charge of possession of marijuana with intent to sell. He was booked in the Land O'Lakes jail.
Detective Sean Kennedy said investigators are still working to figure out whether Brown and Capuano knew each other and how Capuano knew there were drugs at the house.
At a press conference Thursday afternoon, Pasco Sheriff Chris Nocco wanted to clear up misinterpretations about the lead-up to the incident.
"Don't think that these were just innocent people just sitting in their house, that some suspect came in off the street and picked them randomly," he said. "If you're selling drugs, you could be the next victim."