Deputy Kills Man In Lutz

A 37-year-old man was shot dead by a Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office deputy after he ignored an order to stop pointing his handgun at the deputy, a sheriff's office spokeswoman said today.

Three deputies responded to a domestic violence call at 10:55 p.m. Sunday at the Preserve at Deer Park apartments, 15420 Livingston Ave., Lutz.

Sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter gave these details:

Wing Yan, 37, was in the apartment, cutting up his girlfriend's purse with a knife. When the deputies arrived, they knocked on the door and went in. A woman and her 14-year-old daughter were hiding in a bedroom. Yan, who was in the kitchen, pointed a 9 mm handgun at Deputy David Hoffman.

Hoffman told Yan several times to drop the gun. Yan ignored Hoffman. The deputy fired one shot, hitting Yan in the upper chest. Yan died at the scene.

The two other deputies did not fire.

Hoffman, 34, a five-year veteran assigned to District 1, has been placed on administrative leave with pay pending a review of the shooting.

Hoffman's personnel file was unavailable for review Monday.

A search of Florida records found no history of arrests for Yan, who had a concealed weapons permit.

The woman, 34-year-old Jacqueline Nutter, and her daughter, Brittney Hunter, are residents at the complex, but Yan wasn't, apartment complex employees said today. But the apartment's address is listed on Yan's driver's license.

Efforts to reach Yan's family members were not immediately successful. Nutter's father, Lester, refused to comment.

Before the domestic violence call, Yan and his girlfriend had argued all day about issues including a book and going to the beach, Carter said.

Messages left at the woman's apartment and with her neighbors weren't immediately returned.

Florida statutes state that a law enforcement officer is justified in the use of any force deemed necessary to defend himself or another person from bodily harm while making an arrest.

The sheriff's office follows that policy, Carter said.