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Drug Suspect Killed In Raid

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By GEOFF FOX and KEITH MORELLI

gfox@tampatrib.com kmorelli@tampatrib.com

Published: February 21, 2009

HOLIDAY - Deputies shot and killed a suspected drug dealer Friday morning after he fired at SWAT team members, wounding one deputy.

The Pasco County Sheriff's Office identified the man as Luther K. Hudson, 38, a Missouri native convicted of attempted murder.

About 5:30 a.m., deputies arrived at 3550 Windham Drive with a warrant to search the house, where Hudson lived with his brother, George. Detectives had been conducting an undercover narcotics investigation involving the house for months.

Hudson opened fire from a bedroom as deputies entered the home. He was shot once in the chest and died at a local hospital.

He was killed by the deputy he shot in the chest, who was slightly injured after a bullet hit his bulletproof vest and radio.

"He opened fire on our deputies, and we returned fire, and it was a very low-level gunfight," said Sheriff Bob White, who was at the house. "Only a couple of rounds were exchanged, and as a result the person who attacked our deputies is deceased this morning."

Known as "Fatboy," the 5-foot-7, 365-pound Hudson had a lengthy criminal history. In 1989, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison for attempted murder and firing into an occupied vehicle in Tarpon Springs, records show. He served almost four years in prison for selling and possessing drugs in Pinellas County in 2001.
Deputies began the investigation after neighbors complained about Hudson selling drugs out of the house, White said. Hudson used to brag that if he was ever raided by law enforcement, "he would take care of them," White said.

Neighbors in the normally quiet neighborhood of older, single-story homes said people would come and go from Hudson's house at all hours. People parked in the driveway of an unoccupied house next to Hudson's until neighbors put up a rope barricade.

"I was out here painting on the house, and probably in three hours there were at least four different pickups and drop-offs made," said neighbor C.J. Kietzman.
Deputies were called to Hudson's address twice in 2006, once for a domestic dispute and once for a reported burglary, but no arrests were made, sheriff's office spokesman Kevin Doll said.

Friday, George Hudson, 51, was arrested on drug charges related to the search, as was Rose Marie Mazzone, 36, whose address was unknown, the sheriff's office said.

Several adults were in the home at the time of the shooting, and they were being interviewed. No charges were immediately filed, White said.

No one else was injured.

The sheriff's office did not identify the deputy who shot Hudson because he is a SWAT team member. The eight-year veteran was placed on paid administrative leave, pending the results of a homicide investigation, Doll said. The State Attorney's Office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement are conducting the investigation, as is protocol in such cases.

Photographer Andy Jones contributed to this report. Reporter Geoff Fox can be reached at (813) 779-4613. Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 259-7760.

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