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Manhunt Snags Suspect In Lakeland Shooting

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TBO.com

Published: August 16, 2008

LAKELAND - A 27-year-old man was arrested this morning following a manhunt on charges he fired shots at or near three people, including one who was critically injured, Polk County sheriff's deputies reported.

Authorities say Anthony Jason Lopez, whose last known address was in Fort Wayne, Ind., was charged with three counts of attempted second-degree murder. He was being held without bail this afternoon at Polk County Jail.

Deputies said Lopez opened fire Friday night at a home at 2403 Duff Road, Lakeland, where he had been staying. William Verne, 52, who was shot twice, was in critical but stable condition at Lakeland Regional Medical Center, deputies said.

Sheriff's spokeswoman Donna Wood offered this account:

Lopez earlier in the evening had been at a friend's home drinking alcohol. When he returned to the Duff Road residence where he had been staying, the suspect went into his room and began listening to music.

At some point, a resident of the home, Kito Lengacher, 29, entered the bedroom where Lopez was staying and for unknown reasons, Lopez fired a shot into a wall, sheriff's spokeswoman Donna Wood reported.

As Lengacher fled from the room, both William Verne, and his daughter, Marlana Dee Verne, 21, ran to the suspect's room to investigate the disturbance.

Again, for unknown reasons, the suspect began firing at the father and daughter, Wood said. William Verne was shot twice and collapsed in the doorway, Wood said. A projectile grazed Marlana Verne's shirt but she was uninjured.

Officers conducted an extensive search for Lopez throughout the evening and he was arrested at about 7:07 a.m. today in a wooded area off Northview Road, Lakeland.

Lopez has a criminal history in Indiana with charges that include battery, resisting, possession of a handgun without a permit, dealing in cocaine, and other charges, Wood said.

It wasn't clear if the Vernes lived in the home.

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