Manhunt Brings Plant City To A Halt

One of the biggest manhunts in Hillsborough County's history ended shortly before 3:45 p.m. Friday when deputies arrested the man they say killed a bystander during a morning shootout with police.

Fransisco Rangel, 25, was caught after a 61/2-hour, street-by-street search by more than 400 law enforcement officers from local, county and state agencies. The manhunt paralyzed Plant City for most of the day, shutting down streets, locking down schools and forcing the cancellation of the Christmas parade, a Plant City tradition.

Rangel, uninjured and unarmed, was captured by a deputy who spotted him walking between two houses near Tever and Collins streets. Deputies continued to sweep the neighborhood late Friday, searching for weapons Rangel was thought to have been carrying.

The drama began about 9:15 a.m. Friday when detectives spotted a white Ford Expedition driven by Rangel and gave chase. Rangel was wanted in connection with a slaying Thursday that also left another man injured.

During the chase, Rangel ran several stop signs; then, when he was near James L. Redman Parkway and Henry Drive, he "slammed on his brakes, exited the vehicle and fired several more times at our detectives," said sheriff's Maj. Harold Winsett. "The detectives returned fire, and the subject got back in the vehicle and continued to flee."

A passer-by pulled up at the scene after the gunman fled. In the car was a passenger who had been hit by a bullet fired by Rangel, Winsett said. The gunshot victim, Candelario Lagunes, 58, was taken to Lakeland Regional Medical Center, where he died.

None of the five deputies was injured in Friday morning's gunfire, although "they came within an inch of losing their lives," Winsett said. Rangel fired more than 20 shots at the detectives from an AK-47; the number of shots fired by deputies was unknown, Winsett said.

One patrol car was hit six times, and two others were hit at least three times each, deputies said.

A dragnet fell over much of Plant City centered on Interstate 4 and Wheeler Street. Deputies went door to door looking for Rangel. About 3:45 p.m., he was spotted by a deputy on foot near two vacant houses and taken into custody just two blocks from where his abandoned vehicle was found Friday morning.

Rangel was charged with one count each of first-degree murder and second-degree murder. He also faces five counts of attempted first-degree murder of a law enforcement officer, one count of attempted murder and four counts of shooting at, within or into a vehicle. He was being held without bail in Orient Road Jail.

The massive search prompted school officials to lock down all public schools in the Plant City area, including seven elementary schools, four middle schools, one high school and a career center.

Authorities first began looking for Rangel late Thursday, when a warrant was issued charging him with murder and attempted murder. Those charges stem from a shooting earlier that day in which one man was killed. A second man is recuperating from wounds at a local hospital, authorities said.

Killed in the shooting, which occurred shortly after 1 p.m. Thursday, was Michael James Longoria, 36, whose body was found in the backyard of a home at 3506 Juanita Drive. An unidentified 29-year-old man was shot in the abdomen, deputies said. His wounds were not life-threatening.

Rangel's sister-in-law, Leticia Rangel, 39, said, "I don't understand what's happening."

"I used to live with him when he was a child," she said. "He was good. I can't believe what's happening."

Rangel, whose last known address was in Plant City, was prosecuted in Arizona and Florida in 2004 on federal charges of transporting illegal immigrants, according to federal court records. He received a prison sentence of 16 months and three years of probation after time served. He later was sentenced to an additional nine months for violating probation, records show.

According to his arrest affidavit, Rangel is a member of the Sur-13 gang and a self-employed carpet installer.

Jared Ryals was acquainted with Rangel.

"I seen the picture on the news, and I'm like, 'I know that guy,'" Ryals said. "I used to see him in Dover all the time. I guess now the world has gone crazy, man."

At 3 p.m., shortly before Rangel was caught, Plant City Mayor Rick Lott announced the city's annual Christmas parade, scheduled to start about 6 p.m., had been canceled. Frank LaBarbera, the co-chairman of the Plant City Christmas Parade, said parade officials would meet early next week to see whether the parade could be rescheduled.