Pickup crashes into St. Petersburg house, driver dies from gunshot

ST. PETERSBURG - Police found a man dead with a gunshot wound to the upper body in the front seat of a red pickup that crashed into a home late Wednesday night.

 Clifford E. Brown, 30, of 1238 43rd Street S was pronounced dead at the scene at 4341 Dartmouth Ave. N just before midnight, police said.

The truck crashed into a home owned by Paula Dominguez, where a broken window and tire marks were still visible this morning.

Dominguez said she heard two gunshots around 11:45 p.m. and jumped behind her bed about a minute later when headlights beamed through her window. She said her boyfriend, Curtis Bozeman, rushed out, turned off the truck and put it in park.  He tried to talk to Brown as Dominguez called 91. Brown appeared to die as she made the call, Dominguez said.

"I was absolutely surprised," said Dominguez, who moved here two weeks ago from West Palm Beach. "But it's not surprising to hear gunshots." Dominguez said Brown was shot in the left side.

Brown's family members were at the scene this morning and his fiancee, Krystal Noble, 30, was angry that police were not still at the scene.

"Why ain't nobody here investigating?," she asked. "Why is the only person here a St. Pete Times reporter?"

Noble said Brown was shot Jan. 19 and that police had arrested two of three suspects. Police said he was shot on Jan. 20 and the investigation is ongoing.

Police believe Brown was shot near the crash site and that there are "drug overtones" to the case. They describe him as having "an extensive criminal history that includes weapons and drug charges." Brown has served jail time for various drug-related charges, including possession of cocaine and operating a drug house, according to the Pinellas County Jail Web site.

Police have not released information regarding suspects.

Andy Boyle, Times staff writer

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Kevin Smetana, Times staff writer

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Comments

[chuckles49]

let me guess..some idiot wanted to see what it would feel like to shoot a passing motorist. and die in prison

[Mr. Ed]

WHAT!... a needless killing in St. Pete? Why; I never heard of such a thing.

It another great day in St. DUCK!!!

[lanienus]

Ah yes, more of our wonderful society.
If we only had more guns, then it could be like the old West with shootouts at high noon.

[cooter brown]

he was probably on his way to vote.'the outstanding citizen that he was.

[Bobbert]

Police believe that there are "drug overtones" to the case. HaHaHaHaHaHaHa. What great detective work! That one's a no brainer.

[Ripper]

Paula Dominguez? Is she related to the infamous Dominguez Family? who for years have terrorized that area of St Pete with drug dealing, homicides, robberies, burglaries and other crimes? I dont think that it is such a coincidence the car ends up crashing into her home. And she has the decency to ask why the police aren't investigating. Sounds more like " I hate the police, for locking up my cousins and brothers, so now I will bash them at any opportunity I get" to me That is of course if she just happens to bear the "Dominguez" last name by pure coincidence.

[Ripper]

Im sorry I misread the article, it was not Paula Dominguez who made that comment it was Brown's Fiance. I apologize for assuming Paula made that comment, but as for the "Dominguez" family (The Criminals that is), I bet they had something to do with this.

[Mr. Ed]

So his family beat the police to the scene. How did his family find out?

Funny how in St. Pete, everybody knows everybody… until the police show up at a crime scene… then suddenly nobody knows anybody.

[cesspool]

won't miss him - how long was his rap sheet?

[Mashiach Bjorklund]

Good riddance, another drug dealer bites the dust. As for the family that is upset about his death, it's called "karma", or "you reap what you sow", or "he now lies in a grave of his own making", whatever proverb you choose I hope you get the point. If you don't then just remember this, if you raised your kids the way you were supposed to they don't get shot doing drug deals in the middle of the night.

[rdog]

To mashiach bjorklund: as I've stated in a previous story posting, you cannot blame the parents all the time. I raised my children the correct way, kept them in church, stayed involved in their schooling (the teachers and administrators knew me very well), taught them right from wrong and my oldest son is now on house arrest for stupid decisions HE made. Once a child is grown, and sometimes even before then, they seem to want to go against everything their parents taught them. I know because I was, just as you were, a child before. I've never been in jail, but as a teenager I made some stupid choices and could have gone to jail had I been caught. And my parents definitely stayed on me while growing up. so again, I don't always blame the parents. Just as now I'm on my oldest telling him he made his choices now he has to live with the consequences. I did nothing wrong to get him trouble. HE did. Please put the blame where it belongs. On the persons themselves. I'm sure his parents didn't make him go out there and start dealing drugs.

[Mashiach Bjorklund]

rodg: I understand what you are saying. In a sense we both agree, he brought his troubles upon himself. My comments were directed at a family that prefers at this point to blame everyone else. In order to prevent the next child from ending up like his/her brother they need to take more responsibility for what happened to this one. Sometimes our kids do get into trouble like your son did in-spite of the effort you made. But I bet when he did you didn't go out and blame every one else except him or your self. People who care about their role as a parent usually don't.
BTY, Here's a link to an article I think you might find interesting, It's from a organization I belong to call All Pro Dads: http://www.allprodad.com/playbook/viewarticle.php?art=369

[Paul]

Hey Krystal, get a clue.

With your boyfriends record,
it (AINT) worth a long expensive investigation.

You lay down with dogs, and you will get fleas.

At least no innocent children were harmed.

[uncle tony]

cocaine is a hell of a drug.

[Joeline]

It's funny how people are so easy to judge. I am a close friend of the family and have known the victim for over 18 yrs. Clifford Brown could have been in the wrong place at the wrong time. His mother was a single parent and did a great job raising him. If you have nothing nice to say then don't say nothing at all. I will miss him. Those that knew him called him Peanut. Regardless of his rap sheet, he was on the path to making a change by attending church. My prayers go out to his family. May he rest in peace!

[Ms Martin]

THANK YOU RDOG! I get so sick of hearing "blame the parents".

[memaw]

Joeline: Leopards don't change their spots. His rap sheet speaks volumes about his drug dealer past and although I'm sure his friends and family miss him dearly, the rest of us can breathe a sigh of relief that another thug is off the street.

[Joeline]

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Leopards & people are different. People can believe what they want until the proof/investigation is over. People can change if they are tired of the way in which they are living.

[Sign]

Sad, sad, the police probably got another call so they left. Constantly putting out fires. Plus, no matter how hard they try, cannot fix stupid. All that stuff is stupid. JUST STOP IT. THINK INSTEAD.

[BADASS]

Looks like a fine upstanding citizen.
Good riddance one more P O S off the
street. I'm so glad he was going to
church. IT'S NICE TO HAVE A IMAGINARY
FRIEND ! GOD IS A DELUSION !

[Bobcat]

If he was busted so many time s dealing and still was running the
streets he should have stayed home
and reada book dealing for dimmies lmao another guy with street cred got what he deserved .. an over dose of lead

[Bobcat]

That was suppose to read dealing for dummies my bad typo

[CitizenPain]

One down, 14,949 to go.. let's clean up this town