Pinellas deputies describe courthouse shooting drama
ST. PETERSBURG -- Speaking publicly for the first time since last week's fatal shooting at the County Courthouse here, two Pinellas sheriff's deputies described in frightening detail a point-blank gunfight and said their actions probably saved a number of lives.
About 1 p.m. May 7, Glen Lee Powell entered the courthouse at 545 First Ave. N in St. Petersburg.
Deputy B.J. Lyons said his suspicions were aroused by Powell's body language. "There was a look that was kind of undescribable," Lyons said.
Deputy Marvin Glover said he was suspicious when Powell refused to take off his book bag.
Lyons said he and the gunman were "6 to 8 feet apart. At arm's length with the guns, that brought us a lot closer."
Powell fired twice, and the deputies fired a combined 11 times, hitting Powell six times.
"I knew from the impact that I had been shot," Lyons said, but he didn't know it hit his shoulder microphone. Lyons said he also knew that Powell "was still standing there."
Glover said he kept shooting "until I saw him on the floor."
"We were the first line of defense," Glover said. "If he had gotten past us,there's no telling how many lives he could've taken."
Earlier Thursday, Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney Bernie McCabe cleared the two sheriff's deputies in the fatal shooting.
In a letter released this afternoon, McCabe's office concludes that deputies Lyons and Glover were justified in shooting 30-year-old Powell of Brandon.
Check tampabay.com for further developments.
-- Times Staff Writer
Photo of video showing Pinellas Sheriff deputies Marvin Glover and B. J. Lyons shooting and killing a gunman trying to enter the Pinellas county courthouse in St. Petersburg May 7th, 2008. [Pinellas County Sheriff's Office]
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