Clearwater man shoots neighbors

The three people shot were taken to the hospital, one by helicopter.

Investigators say a man shot three neighbors, then barricaded himself inside his home near the corner of Keene Road and Beverly Circle in Clearwater at about 2 a.m. Friday.

"It looked like the ultimate cops show and it was kind of exciting, but a little disturbing too at the same time," said neighbor Ken List.

List and fellow neighbor Bill Meeks watched from their backyards as the scene unfolded.

"I heard three gunshots and women screaming," said List.

"The gunshots, very loud," said Meeks. "Boom, boom, boom. Fast."

Investigators say 44-year-old Jeffrey Devries opened fire on his neighbors when they approached the front porch of his home to read signs he had posted on his front door. He said they were pounding on his door and he was worried they were trying to enter his home.

The shooting victims were Samantha Sipka, 16, of Clearwater, Mark Hoover, 45, of Clearwater, and Jason Biaso, 19, of Safety Harbor.

Sipka and Hoover are being treated at Bayfront Medical Center. Biaso was treated and released Friday morning.

Pinellas County Sheriff's Sgt. Jim Bordner says the seven-hour standoff ended almost as they had hoped.

The standoff lasted about seven hours.

"The negotiators were able to talk this man out of his home," said Bordner. "He complied up [until] the very end and was not fully compliant. For safety purposes, he was subdued with a less lethal round than a Taser."

That weapon was rubber bullets. Devries was also treated at a local hospital.

Unusual behavior

Neighbors say the incident was out of character for the area, but they're not completely surprised.

"I feared it," said List. "Because he (Devries) was kind of strange."

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Others echoed that sentiment. Meeks said Devries has his groceries delivered to his house instead of going out to get them.

Neighbor Gary Kistner says he's lived in the area for three years and never met Devries.

"Have never seen him, never talked to him," said Kistner.

Devries joined the University of South Florida Police Department in 1988. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement said there are no instances of misbehavior on his record. In 1998, he retired and neighbors say it appeared he was afraid to leave his home.

"He only came out to get the mail," said Meeks. "He'd go out to the mailbox and go right back."

These two men heard the shootings from their backyards.

In May 2000, Devries' wife divorced him, and neighbors say his actions grew more bizarre.

For instance, neighbor Joy Brieske said Devries would often film her family over the fence as they relaxed and played outside.

"The guys would be out back watching football and playing horseshoes and stuff, and he'd just hold his camera up over the fence and film us," said Brieske. "I even confronted him seven or eight times and he wouldn't even look away or run or anything. It was just really weird. And then he started talking to somebody named Norman who was not there."





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