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Arrest made in teen's killing

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By GEOFF FOX

gfox@tampatrib.com

Published: June 18, 2009

Editor's note: Because of an error, this story did not appear as intended in Wednesday's Metro section.

LAND O' LAKES - A 19-year-old man has been arrested in the Sunday morning shooting death of Dustin White, 17, at a clubhouse in Lake Padgett Estates East, the Pasco County Sheriff's Office said.

Douglas Gabriel Cevallos Jr. of 2900 Banyon Hill Lane, Land O' Lakes, was charged with manslaughter; he was booked into Land O' Lakes Jail on Tuesday afternoon and released Wednesday after posting $50,000 bail.

Cevallos and White were at a party at 4508 Parkway Blvd. about 2 a.m. when a fight erupted in the nearby parking lot of the community clubhouse, sheriff's spokesman Kevin Doll said. Cevallos picked up a gun that had been dropped during the fight and fired one shot that killed White.

"It's manslaughter because there does not seem to be intent to actually shoot somebody, based on the evidence we have at this point," Doll said. "That could change when the case goes to the state attorney's office."

Doll said the fight involved two brothers and others whom he declined to identify. One of the brothers had a permit to carry a concealed weapon; in the scuffle, the gun fell from its holster, Doll said.

That's when Cevallos "picked up the gun and waved it or fired it," he said. "That's when Dustin White got hit and killed."

It was unclear what White's role was in the fight.

"There were an estimated 40 people at the party earlier, and Dustin was inside the house when the fight started," Doll said. "He came outside, and he was the one shot and killed."

Doll said Cevallos once was enrolled at Land O' Lakes High School but didn't know whether he was still a student there. It was not clear whether White and Cevallos knew each other. Phone calls to White's friends were not immediately returned.

White is survived by his mother, Carole White of Riverview; his father and stepmother, Scott and Robin White of Land O' Lakes; and a brother and sister, Devin White and Megan White, both of Land O' Lakes. There will be a memorial at 2 p.m. today at Grace Family Church in Lutz.

On Monday, White's friends remembered him as a wakeboarding daredevil with a sarcastic sense of humor and a love of country music. His family lives in Lake Padgett Estates, near the community where he died.

Chris Perrone, 18, said he had known White since age 3.

"He was full of life," Perrone said. "I never saw him not happy, never seen him mad. I was hanging out with him earlier Saturday. After a while, we kind of went off to do our own thing. Then I got a phone call saying he was dead.

"It blew everybody's minds. Dustin got along with everybody. He had no enemies, as far as I was concerned."

Reporter Geoff Fox can be reached at (813) 731-1239.

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