Northport man on ATV shoots at cop

December 13, 2006

NORTH PORT -- A man riding an ATV fired a gun at a North Port Police officer early Tuesday morning.

According to Chief Terry Lewis, around 12:30 a.m., Officer Donald Burns pulled alongside of a man riding a red all-terrain vehicle near Tropicaire and Sumter boulevards.

Lewis said Burns was going to let the rider know about the ATV ordinance banning riding in the city.

The man, dressed in camouflage clothing, then pulled an unknown type of firearm and shot at Burns, Lewis said.

The round missed Burns, and the bullet did not hit the police car, Lewis said. The man then fled into the woods on the ATV. Burns was not injured.

"We set up a perimeter with more than a dozen North Port (police officers) and Sarasota County Sheriff's deputies," Lewis said.

K-9 officers from both agencies searched the woods. The Sarasota County Sheriff's helicopter also searched the area. However, they could not find the man nor the ATV.

"It is very dense in there, and with the tree canopy, it makes it nearly impossible to find someone," Lewis said. "(The helicopter's infrared system) is not foolproof."

Later Tuesday, police found a red ATV near Heron Creek Golf & Country Club -- but Lewis said the vehicle was not the one used by the shooter.

"It wound up being part of a theft unrelated to the shooting," Lewis said.

Capt. Kevin Vespia said detectives are looking for a white male about 6 feet tall and weighing 190 pounds, between 20 and 30 years old, with short brown hair, a thin build and unshaven. The make and model of the ATV is not known.

Police are still investigating the shooting, and what the man might have been doing at that hour dressed in camouflage. Police are asking for anyone with information to call Sgt. Detective Tim Smith at 941-429-7343 or the Crime Tip Line at 941-429-7382.