Dawn Bryan told The Tampa Tribune that a neighbor and one of his friends had shot her house several times on Saturday while firing an AK-47 on a nearby property. Bryan found that several rounds had hit her home. One bullet was fired into her 2-year-old daughter's nursery, shattering the window above the crib.
Bryan contacted law enforcement, who came out to investigate. One of the shooters was identified as neighbor Scott Radford, who is a Hillsborough County firefighter. Hillsborough County sheriff’s detention deputy Paul Adee, whose father is sheriff’s Maj. Paul Adee, was confirmed to be the second shooter.
But she said that the deputies who investigated the case did not collect any evidence -- including an AK-47 round that was still on her porch -- and no one was charged.
“They got favorable treatment,” Bryan explained. “My house got blown up by an AK 47. I have to tell you, I was hysterical at the time.”
Bryan said that deputies escorted Radford to her home to apologize. Radford had told the deputies that the shooters had not been aware that the AK-47 rounds would travel far enough to hit her house.
“He shook my hand and apologized,” Bryan recalled. “He admitted he did it. Then the cops look at me and say, ‘OK, so, we’re good, right?’ I asked, ‘What about charges?’ and the deputy says he called his sergeant and there would be no charges."
“We’re not talking about a BB gun here,” she added. “This was an AK 47 that could have struck my children.”
Bryan said that Radford promised to pay for the damage that at least nine bullet holes caused to her home, but she's not holding her breath waiting for a check.
“I don’t think I’m going to see squat,” she insisted. “I’m a single mother. I don’t have money to pay for this. They were completely reckless.”
Hillsborough County sheriff's office spokesperson Debbie Carter declined to discuss the details of the case, but said that charges were still possible.
"This is still an active case,” Carter noted. “The allegation was that there were a couple individuals on their own property, shooting at a berm. One neighbor alleged a couple of the bullets came over to their property and caused some damage to the house."
“The case is not completed yet,” she pointed out. “It is ongoing and there still could be charges coming out of this.”
But former prosecutor John Fitzgibbons told The Tampa Tribune that the Hillsborough County sheriff's office could not objectively investigate one of their own employees.
“The more prudent approach to avoid any appearance of impropriety would be to have an independent agency investigate this matter,” he advised, adding that he "would not expect criminal charges to be filed here" because it looked like an accident.
For her part, Bryan said that she was not opposed to guns as long as the were used responsibly.
“We all shoot out here,” Bryan admitted. “But you’re supposed to have proper backstops. A cop and a fireman should know what the law is."
“They were in the yard of the house directly behind me,” she said, noting that there was not enough room between the houses if the two men were "shooting an AK 47 through my kid’s bedroom window.”
