Police charge 2 boys in shooting

By: Janie Porter

UPDATE:

Tampa, Florida -- Tampa Police have charged two 14 year old boys they say attacked and robbed a man at a Burger King drive-thru last night. They say the two have confessed, and are facing felony charges.

Police say the two were among four juveniles orfficers saw hanging out on railroad tracks near the Burger King. They say they saw the juveniles pull out pellet guns and begin firing at a pedestrian passing by. They took all four in for questioning, and two admitted to the attack at the restaurant.

Katwon Jones, 14, of N. 12th St., Tampa was charged with Armed Robbery, Aggravated Battery, warrants for shooting/throwing a deadly missile, and Grand Theft.

Deandre Gilchrist, 14, of E 108th Ave., Tampa, was charged with Armed Robbery.

They were taken to the Juvenile Assessment Center.

Earlier Story:

Tampa, Florida – Tampa police are looking for 2 suspects after a 71-year-old Tampa man was shot in the face with a pellet gun at a Burger King drive-thru.

John Stofer, a plumber, was on his way to unclog a sewage stoppage Wednesday night when he pulled into the Burger King on the corner of Fowler Ave. and Nebraska Ave. in Tampa.

Stofer says he noticed a large group of teens crossing Nebraska as he pulled his large white van into the drive-thru, but he didn’t think much of it.

Until the some of the teens reappeared in his rear-view mirror.

“So they came around in front of my vehicle and the larger of the 3 leaned on the speaker I was ordering [from], and I had just finished my order,” Stofer said. “I just wanted a hamburger and a Coke.”

Stofer says after he ordered, the teens told him to buy them some food or they would shoot.

He said ‘no way.’

“So the one leaning on the speaker threw a pistol pointed at my face about 3, 4 feet away and said, ‘if you don’t buy it for us, I’ll shoot you.’ And I said, ‘Well shoot then,’ and he damn sure did!” Stofer remembered with a chuckle.

The pellet left a red mark on the left side of his nose.

True to his Marine roots, Stofer denied medical treatment.

But, now, he’s left with a stinging question: why surveillance video didn’t catch the teens in the act?

After he was shot, Stofer says the teens ran off.

He pulled his van up to the order window and told the woman there what happened.

Then, he says, a manager came forward and asked Stofer to stay to file a police report, since the restaurant’s drive-thru security camera was broken.

“He said, ‘But my camera’s down. My camera’s broken there. Will you please, you know, I need to make a report. Will you pull around front?’ So I said, ‘Okay.’” Stofer recalled.

He says he’s outraged that the restaurant knew the camera was broken, but didn’t fix it.

Tampa police confirm they didn’t receive surveillance video from the burger chain.

A Burger King spokesperson declined to comment on the specifics of the case.

Police say they’re looking for 2 suspects, described as black males, about 13 years old, between 4’6” and 4’8”. Both were armed with BB guns.