DRUG SHOOTINGS STOKE APPEALS FOR SOLUTIONS

BROOKSVILLE -- If a sense of urgency filled the voices of those who attended
a community meeting about crime and drugs in south Brooksville, there was a
reason.

In less than two months, there have been three shootings in the area, one of
which ended fatally for 34-year-old Linda Clevinger, whose death marked the
fourth straight drug-related killing in the city.

Two of the most recent shootings occurred within hours of each other between
late Sunday night and early Monday morning. And the basic circumstances of
the third shooting were eerily similar to the first: Person goes to buy
drugs, argument breaks out between the dealer and the buyer, dealer shoots
buyer.

This time, the person shot was Spring Hill resident Jonathan Ortiz, 33, of
4474 Plumosa St., who went to Smith and Union streets to buy drugs, police
say. He was the passenger of a car driven by Spring Hill resident Tony
Cafaro, 55, of 3173 Harrow Road, who tried to drive away when he saw the
dealer pull out a gun. He was too late, and Ortiz, sitting in the passenger
seat, was shot in the back of the head. He was flown to Tampa General
Hospital, where he remained in intensive care until Thursday, when he was
released.

Brooksville police declined to say whether they have any suspects in the
early Monday morning shooting. In the killing of Clevinger, who authorities
say was shot in the head Jan. 6 while sitting in a truck as she tried to buy
drugs on Jefferson Street, officials have made an arrest. Although her
shooter is still at large, the man who drove her to the United 500 gas
station to buy crack has been charged with third-degree murder.

In the second shooting, Hernando County sheriff's officials have charged
Stephen Hasberry, 24, of 404 E Martin Luther King Blvd. with shooting
another man in the shoulder. Hasberry claims he shot Leonard Sampson, a
Brooksville resident awaiting trial on bank robbery charges, in self-defense
when he thought Sampson was going to shoot him first. Sampson told
authorities he confronted Hasberry about taunting his girlfriend Sunday and,
unprovoked, Hasberry shot him.

At Wednesday's meeting, residents expressed fear at the growing violence.
Law enforcement officers promised to do more but said they need more help
from the community.

"We know what the problem is in Brooksville. The question is, what are we
going to do about it?" said Deputy Bill Pope, who is part of the Sheriff's
Office community policing unit assigned to the south Brooksville area. "We
are begging and pleading with you to help us."