1 Dead, 1 Jailed After Being Accused Of Firing At Pinellas Deputy

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — One man is dead and another is behind bars after being accused of firing an AR-15 rifle and .40-caliber handgun multiple times at a Pinellas County Sheriff's deputy Thursday.

According to detectives, at 9:07 p.m. Jan. 23, a Clearwater Police officer tried to pull over a Lexus for a traffic violation at Harn Boulevard and U.S. 19. The Lexus fled and continued south on U.S. 19. Clearwater Police did not pursue it.

A few minutes later, a Largo Police officer attempted to pull over the same Lexus on U.S. 19 at Whitney Road. The driver again refused to stop and fled east on Roosevelt Boulevard. Largo Police also did not pursue the car.

Detectives discovered that the car was registered to an apartment at 2222 36th St. S. in St. Petersburg. A deputy with the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office Violent Crimes Task Force was working in the area at the time and went to the home to see if the Lexus was there.

At 9:33 p.m., Deputy Richard Curry Jr., who was in full uniform, parked his unmarked car in the alleyway in the 2200 block of 36th Street South. While Curry was seated in the driver's seat, a man approached the sheriff's vehicle. Curry rolled his window down and identified himself as a sheriff's deputy. The man acknowledged Curry and then returned to the apartment.

Moments later, the same man left the apartment with another man, approached the sheriff's vehicle and fired multiple rounds from an AR-15 rifle and a semi-automatic handgun at Curry as the deputy got out of the vehicle and ran for cover. Curry fired his 9 mm handgun 18 times at the men, later identified as 29-year-old Marquis Golden and 22-year-old Delvin Ford.

Golden dropped the AR-15 he was using and both men fled. Responding deputies discovered Golden dead from multiple gunshot wounds in the backyard of the apartment.

A Clearwater Police K-9 was called in and tracked Ford, still armed with the .40-caliber handgun, to the roof of a home at 2320 36th St. S.

Ford was taken into custody without incident and charged with second-degree murder and felon in possession of a firearm. Additional charges are pending.

During their investigation, detectives discovered three .223-caliber spent shell casings at the scene of the shooting from the AR-15 rifle used by Golden. The rifle contained an additional 27 rounds of ammunition.

Next to the AR-15 rifle was a fully loaded 9 mm handgun, which also appeared to have been dropped or abandoned as Golden and Ford fled the scene of the shooting.

Detectives also recovered five .40-caliber spent casings.

Detectives also discovered two more firearms inside the apartment. Both guns were loaded and one was reported stolen out of Hernando County.

"Had Deputy Curry not gotten out of his car, that car would probably have been a coffin." said Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri. "I'm glad he [Deputy Curry] is safe and that he handled the situation as well as anybody could have handled it. Through his training, through his experience and through his actions, he saved his own life."

Curry, 32, an employee with the sheriff's office since 2016, has been placed on routine administrative leave.