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3 Charged In Fatal Port Richey Shooting
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Published: July 24, 2008
Franklin Henry
Antonio Arriaga
Jose Rodriguez
PORT RICHEY - It was a drug deal gone "very, very bad" and someone ended up dead, Pasco County Sheriff's Office Detective Lisa Shoneman said Wednesday, summing up a fatal shooting Sunday.
By Wednesday, the three men detectives think are responsible for the slaying of Pedro Perez were behind bars and facing murder charges.
Franklin Steven Leon Henry, the 23-year-old man authorities say was the shooter, and Antonio Dominic Arriaga, 22, were arrested Tuesday night. Jose J. Rodriguez, 28, was arrested Wednesday at his home.
Just before 4:30 p.m. Sunday, deputies were summoned to a home at 6735 El Camino Paloma St. about a shooting. Abel Velez told deputies he found his friend Perez in the garage, shot. Moments before, Velez had heard several gunshots, according to reports.
Perez, who is thought to have been 42, was shot four times. He was pronounced dead a short time later at Morton Plant North Bay Hospital in New Port Richey.
Shoneman said four men arrived at the home in a 1998 pearl-colored Cadillac to purchase an ounce of cocaine - a street value of $800. The men piled out of the car and met Perez in the garage. Perez, according to reports, pulled out a .380-caliber automatic pistol and ordered the men to the floor. Velez was ordered to check the car for money, but he didn't find any.
Meanwhile, Henry pulled out his gun, Shoneman said, and fired.
As Velez started back toward the garage, he heard several shots, saw two men running toward him and saw Henry threatening him with a gun, Shoneman said. Velez then found his friend dead.
Henry and passenger Selvin Zuniga, 21, drove away in the Cadillac. Velez grabbed Perez's gun and fired at the Cadillac.
The two other men ran out the back, Shoneman said. Velez called 911.
About 10 hours later, Cpl. Charles Keppel Jr. pulled over a car matching the Cadillac's description as it traveled north on U.S. 19. When Keppel approached the car, he smelled marijuana. He searched the Cadillac and found pot and a pipe in the glove box, according to a report. The driver, Henry, was arrested, sheriff's spokesman Kevin Doll said.
Henry was arrested on charges of marijuana and paraphernalia possession, posted $5,150 bail and was released from Land O' Lakes Jail on Monday.
On Tuesday, one of the four men, Zuniga, went to authorities and led them to the other three. The sheriff's office had released composite images of the men that led to tips from the public.
Zuniga told Shoneman he didn't know what was happening at Perez's and was just at the wrong place at the wrong time.
"He was scared," she said. "He was really scared."
Zuniga won't be charged.
Several of the men involved had crown tattoos and are thought to be members of the Latin Kings, Shoneman said, but the shooting is not believed to be gang-related.
Henry, of 6717 River Road, New Port Richey; Arriaga, of 13000 Avon St., Hudson; and Rodriguez, of 2578 Ranchside Terrace, New Port Richey; are being held without bail at Land O' Lakes Jail.
Prosecutors will review the case to ensure the charges are appropriate. With a murder charge, an individual doesn't have to be the one who did the killing. A killing has to have occurred during the commission of a felony in which they were involved.
Reporter Lisa A. Davis can be reached at (727) 815-1083 or ldavis@tampatrib.com.
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