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Officers In Standoff With Armed Man In Port Charlotte

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Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Published: September 21, 2008

Updated: 09/21/2008 09:28 pm

A man with a cache of guns and ammunition barricaded himself inside his home Sunday and fired more than 30 shots into the neighborhood during an all-day standoff with authorities.

A female relative reported to police that the man was on an alcoholic binge and talking about suicide before she left his home in the 18400 block of Wintergarden Avenue, said Charlotte County Sheriff's spokesman Bob Carpenter. She asked for a "well-being check," he added.

When deputies knocked on the man's door a little after 1 p.m., he opened fire with an automatic weapon, Carpenter said.

The man then locked himself inside and continued to shoot several rounds out the door and windows as deputies, detectives and the county SWAT team surrounded the residence.

No one was injured, but nearby houses were struck by several bullets, Carpenter said. Neighbors were evacuated, and residents within a two-block radius were advised to remain in their homes and away from windows.

Around 5:30 p.m., the man called the sheriff's crisis negotiator to talk. But as of 8 p.m. he was still in the house.

The relative told authorities that the man said he had just been in jail and was not going back, Carpenter said. The woman also warned that the man has an armament of weapons because he is a gun collector.

Carpenter said the man would be more likely to go to a medical institution for evaluation than jail at this point.

The home is owned by Thomas E. Dickie, 46, according to county records.

Dickie is the president of Celebrity Pools Inc., which he runs out of his house, according to a background check. He was arrested Sept. 7 and charged with battery on a law enforcement officer, obstruction with violence, eluding an officer and DUI, according to court documents.

Dickie posted the bond of $10,000 on Sept. 9, and his arraignment was scheduled for Oct. 13.

A relative of Dickie's said he has dual custody of a 13-year-old boy. The relative, who asked not to be named, also said Dickie had gone through "a drinking period" but had been sober for months.

A nearby resident, Brian Hall, said the gunman disturbed the neighbors living in a nearby house before the shooting began.

"The neighbors told me the guy was going nuts, started banging on the windows of their house, wanting to come in," Hall said.

A female neighbor who asked not to be named said the man has showed her his weapons, including concrete-piercing bullets, in the past. Though not in reference to Sunday's standoff, she said the man told her he would "never be taken alive."

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