11-13-2006, 12:44 PM
BSO deputy killed, 2nd shot; a suspect is in custody
By WANDA J. DeMARZO
wdemarzo@MiamiHerald.com
RC WHITE/MIAMI HERALD STAFF
CRIME SCENE: Deputies and officers from agencies throughout Broward blocked intersections to seal the search area. Here a deputy prepares to set flares at 80th and West Commercial Blvd.
A Broward Sheriff's deputy is dead this morning and another wounded after someone inside a white Geo Metro opened fire during a late-night traffic stop in Tamarac.
The car sped away, but was found abandoned in Sunrise, where hundreds of law officers converged and were going door to door. At least one suspect was being held, though authorities were looking for others. Several witnesses were being questioned.
Deputy Brian Tephford was killed when one of the occupants of the car shot him twice, authorities said. It happened in the 8500 block of Colony Circle near the Versailles Gardens condominium, where Tephford had been working an off-duty detail.
The 34-year-old deputy's weapon remained strapped in its holster, according to BSO.
A second deputy who had been called to the scene as backup during the traffic stop, Corey Carbocci, was shot four times.
Carbocci, 37, was in stable condition at Broward General Medical Center. He, too, never had the chance to remove his weapon from its holster, BSO said.
''It would appear that they were taken totally by surprise by this shooting,'' Sheriff Ken Jenne told television station WTVJ.
Tephford was not wearing a protective vest.
After the shooting, the car sped off. Law officers pursuing the car lost sight of it at one point. But it was found in Sunrise, near a strip mall at the intersection of Oakland Park Boulevard and Hiatus Road.
Several cars were recovered and several witnesses questioned throughout the night. ''We received information from witnesses and investigated everything they told us,'' said BSO spokeswoman Veda Coleman-Wright.
Jenne rushed to Broward General, where Tephford was pronounced dead at 12:01 a.m., to maintain a vigil for the wounded deputy. The department was planning a news conference this morning.
Authorities were not divulging any information on the suspect or suspects in custody. BSO alerted authorities to be on the lookout for a 38-year-old man, Keith S. Smith, also believed to be connected to the shooting. No other details about him were immediately available.
The shooting happened shortly after 11 p.m. Saturday. As many as 10 shots were fired by the gunman inside the four-door Geo, BSO said.
Police helicopters hovered over the neighborhood where the Geo was discovered abandoned, hunting fugitives from the sky. Hundreds of officers, including dozens of officers with police dogs, combed through backyards.
At the Versailles Gardens -- the scene of the shooting -- entrances into the complex were cordoned off and deputies were stopping every car that entered the complex and examining the contents of its trunk.
''This is just insane,'' said Camille Pedone, 46, a resident of the condo complex. ``This is normally a very quiet area.''
Pedone and her roommate, Linda Dion, said they heard emergency sirens during the night but thought nothing of the sound -- a hospital is located nearby.
''I heard there was a reward offered but I'd turn them in for nothing,'' Dion said. ``If someone would shoot a cop then they would do anything.''
According to BSO, Tephford was a father of three young children, two of them twins. He was a six-year BSO veteran.
Carbocci is a father of four, including a stepson who is a fellow Broward Sheriff's deputy. Carbocci is a former truck driver who became a deputy three years ago.
By WANDA J. DeMARZO
wdemarzo@MiamiHerald.com
RC WHITE/MIAMI HERALD STAFF
CRIME SCENE: Deputies and officers from agencies throughout Broward blocked intersections to seal the search area. Here a deputy prepares to set flares at 80th and West Commercial Blvd.
A Broward Sheriff's deputy is dead this morning and another wounded after someone inside a white Geo Metro opened fire during a late-night traffic stop in Tamarac.
The car sped away, but was found abandoned in Sunrise, where hundreds of law officers converged and were going door to door. At least one suspect was being held, though authorities were looking for others. Several witnesses were being questioned.
Deputy Brian Tephford was killed when one of the occupants of the car shot him twice, authorities said. It happened in the 8500 block of Colony Circle near the Versailles Gardens condominium, where Tephford had been working an off-duty detail.
The 34-year-old deputy's weapon remained strapped in its holster, according to BSO.
A second deputy who had been called to the scene as backup during the traffic stop, Corey Carbocci, was shot four times.
Carbocci, 37, was in stable condition at Broward General Medical Center. He, too, never had the chance to remove his weapon from its holster, BSO said.
''It would appear that they were taken totally by surprise by this shooting,'' Sheriff Ken Jenne told television station WTVJ.
Tephford was not wearing a protective vest.
After the shooting, the car sped off. Law officers pursuing the car lost sight of it at one point. But it was found in Sunrise, near a strip mall at the intersection of Oakland Park Boulevard and Hiatus Road.
Several cars were recovered and several witnesses questioned throughout the night. ''We received information from witnesses and investigated everything they told us,'' said BSO spokeswoman Veda Coleman-Wright.
Jenne rushed to Broward General, where Tephford was pronounced dead at 12:01 a.m., to maintain a vigil for the wounded deputy. The department was planning a news conference this morning.
Authorities were not divulging any information on the suspect or suspects in custody. BSO alerted authorities to be on the lookout for a 38-year-old man, Keith S. Smith, also believed to be connected to the shooting. No other details about him were immediately available.
The shooting happened shortly after 11 p.m. Saturday. As many as 10 shots were fired by the gunman inside the four-door Geo, BSO said.
Police helicopters hovered over the neighborhood where the Geo was discovered abandoned, hunting fugitives from the sky. Hundreds of officers, including dozens of officers with police dogs, combed through backyards.
At the Versailles Gardens -- the scene of the shooting -- entrances into the complex were cordoned off and deputies were stopping every car that entered the complex and examining the contents of its trunk.
''This is just insane,'' said Camille Pedone, 46, a resident of the condo complex. ``This is normally a very quiet area.''
Pedone and her roommate, Linda Dion, said they heard emergency sirens during the night but thought nothing of the sound -- a hospital is located nearby.
''I heard there was a reward offered but I'd turn them in for nothing,'' Dion said. ``If someone would shoot a cop then they would do anything.''
According to BSO, Tephford was a father of three young children, two of them twins. He was a six-year BSO veteran.
Carbocci is a father of four, including a stepson who is a fellow Broward Sheriff's deputy. Carbocci is a former truck driver who became a deputy three years ago.