Sheriff describes deputy-related shooting

They knocked on every door.

They crawled into the house through a window and a shot rang.

They told Robert Capkovic they were deputies and they were there to check on him.

He kept firing, said Hernando County Sheriff Richard Nugent.

The sheriff stood before the media and described Monday's violent scene in detail.

The deputies retreated after the third shot. Hours later, SWAT entered the home at 5351 Joyner Ave. and Capkovic fired his rifle again, this time hitting a deputy in the arm.

The heavily armored unit promptly returned fire with their M4 rifles and shot Capkovic, who had barricaded himself in his bathroom.

Paramedics stormed inside the gas-filled house with hazmat suits. Every room contained thick clouds of the chemical, a mixture of tear gas and pepper spray. They couldn't revive Capkovic.

"That's a decision he made," Nugent said during a media conference Tuesday morning. "We knock on doors all the time ... and he made the decision to try and kill three deputies."

The sheriff realized he forgot to mention the final shot from Capkovic's rifle, the one that hospitalized Deputy Lance Origon. Nugent adjusted his statement. Capkovic, 62, had actually tried to kill four deputies, he said.

In his 37 years in law enforcement, Nugent has seen police get killed during response calls that seemed routine in the beginning, he said.

"We don't pick the circumstances ... the bad guys do," said the sheriff, who rejected any suggestion the sheriff's office used excessive force following a wellness check. "When you do that, bad things happen to you."

Origon was treated at Spring Hill Regional Hospital and later released, according to a media release. He declined a request for an interview.

Nugent said Origon had spent the day assisting his wife, a third-grade teacher, set up her classroom for the upcoming school year. He received the SWAT call while he was helping decorate.

"We're very fortunate the deputies who responded (first) to the home weren't shot," the sheriff said. "It's an unfortunate situation, but I'm very pleased our guys walked out."

SWAT waits and strikes

Deputies first arrived at Capkovic's house before 5 p.m. Monday.

Nugent said the sheriff's office received word from an employee at Bank of America that Capkovic had sent them a letter early last month that contained suicidal language.

"I don't know what took them so long to contact us," said Nugent.

Deputies arrived mid-afternoon and interviewed neighbors, all of whom said they had not seen any trace of Capkovic in weeks.

Lou Martel, who lives diagonally from Capkovic, said that was common. Hardly anyone living on his block knew him.

"He was a loner," Martel said.

When neighbors did see him, he was usually shirtless and wearing black pants. That seemed to be his favorite outfit, regardless of the temperature outside, said Martel.

Deputies saw Capkovic's car parked in his driveway. They figured he was home.

They knocked on the front, side and backdoors, Nugent said.

Spring Hill Fire Rescue assisted deputies as they entered through a window.

"They announced themselves on many occasions," said the sheriff.

Moments later, Capkovic emerged from the bathroom, armed with a long rifle.

He reportedly fired three times.

"Deputies never returned fire," said the sheriff.

In the hours that followed, deputies at the scene tried to contact Capkovic.

They used a public address system. They tossed a phone into the house and called it. The suspect didn't answer.

"We could not hear him at all in the home," Nugent said.

By 8:45 p.m., SWAT made its move.

They wore ballistic armor that weighed up to 25 pounds and carried an additional 25 pounds of equipment, said Lt. Matt Lillibridge, who supervises emergency responses for the sheriff's office.

In addition to their M4 rifles, which are a shortened version of the M16, the specialty unit brought 12-gauge shotguns filled with gas canisters. They also carried holsters with .40-caliber pistols, Lillibridge said.

Origon was hit with birdshot. Most of pellets were removed, but some remain inside his arm, Nugent said.

Neighbors knew little of Capkovic

"I heard a whole bunch of shots," said Martel, who was watching from his front porch. "It was bang, bang, bang, bang. It was like World War III."

Minutes later, he heard someone yell, "I've been shot in the arm," Martel said.

Origon has been with the sheriff's office since 2002. He and another member of SWAT have been placed on administrative leave, a standard practice following a deputy-involved shooting, said the sheriff.

Capkovic had no prior felonies, according to a background check.

Nugent said there was no indication he had a history of mental illness.

The sheriff said Capkovic was having financial difficulties with his mortgage. His home on Joyner Avenue was valued at $116,300 and his income was barely more than $31,125, according to financial records.

Reports show Capkovic had moved in February 2008 to Spring Hill from Walnutport, Pa.

He previously had lived in Spring Hill from 1993 to 1996 and briefly resided in Port Richey in 1997.

Martel said Capkovic had been a widower for a few years.

His wife had been the "bread earner" and was rarely seen, Martel said.

"He seemed like a really nice guy," said next-door neighbor Keith Clarke, who moved to the neighborhood two months ago.

He recalled having only one conversation with Capkovic, but they talked for about 20 minutes.

"He told me he had been depressed for a while, but everyone gets depressed," Clarke said. "I'm surprised, disappointed and shocked really. I still haven't digested it. I didn't think he was the type."