DRUG SUSPECT DIES OF SELF-INFLICTED WOUND

Bethel Clayton Buzbee III Shot Himself During A High-Speed Chase

BRADENTON - Police were never able to question an area man about the
guns, the syringes and the bags of heroin they said they found in his
white 1998 Pontiac.

Before Bradenton Police officers could confront Bethel Clayton Buzbee
III, the 26-year-old ended Friday's high-speed chase by officers with
a single, self-inflicted gunshot to the right side of his head while a
passenger was still in the vehicle. The gun was still in his right
hand when officers approached him, according to reports from the
Bradenton Police Department.

Police did not immediately release Buzbee's identity. He later died at
Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg.

The passenger, Mark Falkoski, 20, told police that Buzbee said he "had
warrants and he was not going to jail" and that Buzbee shot himself
while he was still driving, reports stated.

"We've had situations similar to this in the past, but it occurs more
in situations where there's a barricaded gunman or hostage and the
individual will commit suicide before police can enter the premise,"
Bradenton Police spokesman Maj. J.J. Lewis said Tuesday.

Falkoski told police that his vehicle had broken down in the 4900
block of 19th Street West and that Buzbee had offered to give him a
ride that day. Buzbee made several stops for drug transactions,
reports stated.

A police source, who purchased $40 worth of heroin from Buzbee early
Friday, informed detectives that Buzbee, who had been arrested
numerous times on drug-related charges, had 20 to 25 bags of heroin in
his car.

A chase began along 37th Avenue West and snaked through numerous
streets. At one point, Buzbee began shooting at officers, according to
the reports.

After Buzbee was taken to Bayfront Medical, police searched a duplex
he rented in the 4900 block of 19th Street West and found two guns,
multiple syringes and drug paraphernalia.

While officers tend to have repeated run-ins with drug dealers, Lewis
said officers did not know Buzbee.

"They didn't know who he was," Lewis said. "They had no indication
that he intended on harming himself."