TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

As Inmate Hunt Intensifies, Fearful Man Wings Wife

ADVERTISEMENT

By KEITH MORELLI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 17, 2008

Updated: 01/17/2008 01:44 pm

Thinking his home was being invaded by a desperate escapee from Citrus County Jail, a 63-year-old Beverly Hills man squeezed off a shot from his .38 Special early Sunday morning at a bushy haired figure next to his backyard pool.

The bullet found its mark, hitting the target in the arm.

It wasn't until the wounded person screamed that Ralph Contopoulo, 63, realized he had shot his 59-year-old wife, Lyn, according to a report filed by Citrus County Sheriff's Office deputies.

James Coursey

The couple, who live at 4986 N. Tee Pee Drive, had heard about the escape of James Coursey, who walked away from Citrus County Jail in Lecanto on Friday.

Lecanto and Beverly Hills are within a few miles of each other in the central part of the county. News of the sheriff's search continued into the weekend and intensified Sunday morning when, deputies said, Coursey used a hammer to attack a Lecanto man who found him hiding in a shed.

Earlier Sunday, just after midnight, the Contopouloses were asleep when they heard a sheriff's helicopter hovering and saw a neighbor outside with a flashlight.

Contopoulo got a .38-caliber revolver from his bedroom, deputies said. He walked back through the house, looking for anything suspicious, and saw a person standing on the darkened pool deck.

"He thought it was the escapee from the Citrus County Detention Facility, at which time, he pointed his weapon at the dark shadow figure and advised it not to move," a deputy wrote.

The figure moved, and Contopoulo fired a single shot, deputies said.

Lyn Contopoulo was hit in the right upper arm. The bullet passed through. She was treated at Seven Rivers Hospital in Crystal River.

There were no charges filed.

Coursey was captured Monday morning in Lecanto. At the time of the escape, Coursey was awaiting trial on charges of grand theft and burglary. He now faces additional charges of burglary and escape.

Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 259-7760 or kmorelli@tampatrib.com.

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT