Former Port Richey Mayor Gets 3 Years For Shooting At Deputies

PORT RICHEY, FL — The former mayor of Port Richey — accused of practicing medicine without a license and then shooting at Pasco County sheriff's SWAT team members when they tried to serve him with a search warrant — has reached a plea agreement.

Dale Massad, who was still the mayor at the time of his arrest in February 2019, will spend three years in prison followed by 10 years of probation. The plea deal was announced by prosecutors and defense attorneys Friday.

The state agreed to drop attempted murder charges in exchange for Massad pleading guilty to one count of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, a second-degree felony.

Massad, 70, contended he thought sheriff's deputies were intruders when he was awakened at 4:40 a.m. on Feb. 21, 2019, by deputies forcing open the front door of his two-story waterfront home.

He grabbed a gun and shot at a deputy entering his home to protect himself, Massad said.

Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco said he used the SWAT team to serve the search warrant because he knew Massad owned guns.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement was investigating Massad for diagnosing and performing medical procedures without a license and ordering prescribed medications through the internet.

Massad is a retired doctor who relinquished his medical license in 1992.

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