Detention Deputies Involved in Fatal Shooting Identified

SPRING HILL, FL — A 30-year-old man is dead following a strange series of events that began to unfold early Friday morning in Hernando County and ended with a deputy-involved shooting in Pasco.

According to Pasco County Sheriff’s Chris Nocco, the string of events that led to the shooting began to unfold around 5 a.m. when a 911 hang-up call came in. A woman told dispatchers she was being followed by a man.

Pasco deputies responded to an area near U.S. 41 and County Line Road. So did Hernando County deputies. Realizing the incident occurred in Hernando, Pasco deputies left the area, Nocco said.

Shortly afterwards, a call came in about a motor vehicle crash involving a red, four-door vehicle. The driver, witnesses said, ran toward the Coca-Cola plant on the Pasco side of the county line.

Nocco said the Coca-Cola drivers were preparing for their morning runs at the time and had left their truck engines running. The man involved in the 911 call and the subsequent crash swiped one of the trucks and began heading south on U.S. 41 further into Pasco County, Nocco said.

At that time, an off-duty detention sergeant was on his way to work in his own personal Mustang. He spotted the Coca-Cola truck and began to follow it, Nocco said. The sergeant, identified as Paul Van Steen, 51, let other deputies know the truck was weaving as it sped down U.S. 41.

As Van Steen continued to follow, the truck’s driver stopped abruptly, kicked the vehicle into reverse and ran over the hood of the Mustang, Nocco said.

The truck continued south on U.S. 41, Nocco said. At that point, another off-duty detention deputy, in full uniform, was on U.S. 41 in a Ford F-150. The Coca-Cola truck ended up getting behind the Ford as it headed south on 41. The driver of the Coca-Cola truck, rammed the Ford, pushing it off the road, the sheriff's office said in an email to media.

Both vehicles ended up going off the road, Nocco said.

At that point, Deputy Jeffrey Pyle, 33, got out, drew down on the suspect and gave him commands, Nocco said.

The man, identified as Ronald Michael Robbibaro, did not follow those commands, Nocco said. He charged the deputy and a “very violent fight” ensued. During the struggle, Robbibaro tried to choke out the deputy, who fired two rounds, Nocco said.

Robbibaro died at the scene.

Robbibaro has a number of prior arrests on record, including several DUIs and a domestic battery that involved a resisting arrest with violence charge.

“This is a horrible situation anytime we’re involved in these types of incidents,” Nocco said. “I want to thank God our deputies are OK.”

Van Steen has worked for the sheriff's office since June 1995. Pyle was hired in June 2007.

The incident remains under investigation.

Photo courtesy of the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office