Wesley Chapel Man Shoots 3, Kills 2 Home Intruders

WESLEY CHAPEL, FL — The Pasco County Sheriff's Office is investigating a home invasion Friday in which the homeowner shot three men who broke into his house, killing two of them.

According to Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco, at 12:43 a.m., the homeowner was alone in his house, playing video games, when he heard glass shatter in the back of his house.

The homeowner grabbed a gun and began walking down a hallway toward the back of the house where he saw an armed intruder dressed in dark clothing and wearing a black mask, Nocco said.

The homeowner shot and killed the first intruder and then saw two more men in dark clothing and a mask come up behind the first intruder. The homeowner shot the second intruder. At some point, one of the intruders shot off a gun but the homeowner wasn't hit.

He then saw a third intruder who he shot and wounded before his gun jammed. The third intruder fell on top of the second intruder and the homeowner ran to retrieve another gun.

During that time, the third intruder, identified as 19-year-old Jeremiah Tramel, ran out of the house where he encountered an armed neighbor who held him at gunpoint until deputies arrived.

Tramel was taken to the hospital where he remains in stable condition. He is being charged with two counts of second-degree homicide and one count of home invasion robbery.

"He is accountable for the deaths because it was during the commission of a felony that he was involved in that those two people died," Nocco said.

The other two intruders died at the scene. They are Luis Casado, 21, and Khyle Durham, 21.

According to Nocco, Tramel has a record that includes an arrest for battery as do Casado and Durham.

"Let me be clear. These two individuals have very violent criminal histories," Nocco said.

Nocco said the homeowner was most likely targeted because he's a gun enthusiast and has posted photos of his weapons on social media.

"That may be a reason why he was targeted. And there was some time of relationships between them and victim so this is not a totally random situation. This is an isolated, targeted situation," Nocco said.

He added that the homeowner was within his rights to shoot the intruders.

"He exercised his Second Amendment right to protect himself and his home," Nocco said. "It's a sad situation when there's a loss of life, there's no doubt about it. But for that victim who's sitting in his house and hears glass break, they don't have many other options. It's a sad reality of the world we live in today, but we're fortunate that you have the right to protect yourself in your home and that's very valuable."

The sheriff's office isn't releasing the homeowner's name due to Marsy's law, the state law that protects the identities of crime victims. Releasing his name, said Nocco, would only make him more of a target.

Courtesy Pasco Sheriff