'SOME HERO THING': GUNMAN SHOT, KILLED

By YVETTE C. HAMMETT, STEPHEN THOMPSON and DAVID SOMMER The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 8, 2008

ST. PETERSBURG - Glen Lee Powell left his mother's house in Brandon armed with his belief that the government and police were interfering with his freedom.

He was going through a divorce. Wednesday was the last day for him to respond to the suit at the St. Petersburg courthouse.

His mother, Virginia Powell, asked him to take her with him. He said no.

She thinks he may have plotted out what happened next.

"He just thought he had to do some hero thing," she said.

Glen Powell, 30, was shot and killed by two Pinellas County deputies after he opened fire with a semiautomatic handgun as he started to go through a security checkpoint at the courthouse Wednesday afternoon, the sheriff's office said.

Deputy B.J. Lyons, 58, was shot in the shoulder and later released from the hospital. Deputy Martin Glover, 57, was not hurt.

"I don't know if he thought he was making a statement or what," Virginia Powell said.

Once an award-winning wrestler who played French horn in the band at Brandon High School, Powell later served as a missionary to Colombia with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. In 2001, he joined the Air Force to repair military jets. But not long after he enlisted, his behavior led to trouble.

His mother said he started visiting an online site for the Freedom Force International militia. According to the site, "Freedom Force International is a network of men and women from all parts of the world who are concerned over loss of personal liberty and expansion of government power."

"He was removed from the Air Force for his beliefs," Virginia Powell said.

He since had been installing backyard ponds with a friend, but didn't have a steady job. And his reading habits drew more concern.

The Eagle Scout and 1996 Brandon High graduate constantly read the U.S. Constitution, his mother said. He was enamored with the passages on how citizens should arm themselves, take care of their own and not have police and government interference, Virginia Powell said.

Glen Powell told his mother that "we shouldn't have police and the courts are corrupt."

She said, "I told him that's what enemies of our country want us to think."

Marriage 'Irretrievably Broken'

His wife of seven years, Vivian Powell, 33, filed for divorce March 27, stating the marriage was "irretrievably broken."

Glen Powell was served the divorce papers April 17 and had 20 calendar days to file a written response to his wife's divorce petition, court records show. If he did not, the petition said, he could lose the case and his "wages, money and property may be taken thereafter without further warning from the court."

A spokesman for the Powell family, Bishop David P. Scott, said Powell was on his way Wednesday to file a response to the divorce. The case file and docket show no evidence that Powell ever made it.

He approached a walkthrough electronic screening device about 1:10 p.m. The deputies stationed at the checkpoint instructed him to remove a backpack he carried and place it on a conveyor belt, the sheriff's office said.

Instead, Powell threw the backpack to the ground. Then he took out a handgun and fired at Lyons and Glover.

"I'd say luck and training were on their side," said sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Jim Bordner.

Lyons, a 25-year veteran with the sheriff's office who was serving as a bailiff, was taken to Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg with injuries that were not life-threatening. A bullet first struck his portable radio microphone attached to a shoulder strap, deflecting it and preventing serious injury, Bordner said.

Investigators have not established a motive for Powell's actions. "It was unprovoked," Bordner said.

Besides the gun,Powell had a loaded magazine in his possession, Bordner said.

Just before the shooting, Cassandra Grady encountered Powell while with her 15-year-old daughter at the courthouse. Grady said Powell asked her where he should go to file a petition.

After she directed him to the front entrance, she saw a gun sticking out of the backpack.

"I knew when I looked in his eyes. It was something," she said. "I can tell a lot by a person's gestures, his eyes. I made eye contact, and his eyes told me to run, run for my life, and that's what I did."

Shara Ellis, a property manager taking care of some civil matters at the courthouse, said everybody ran for cover when they heard the shots.

"I didn't see much. I heard," Ellis said. "I was standing in front of the elevator to go to the law library. …In that moment, I heard an explosion. …I was just riveted to the spot. I didn't move right away. When I did, I went to the detector. A man was on the floor in a ball. He had a backpack on."

Debbie Haugabook, a supervisor of court records, was in the building.

"After the shooting, everyone was under the desks or exiting as much as they could," she said. "They were going through side doors, exit doors, anything they could. I was in the elevator. I was really nervous. I was a little close for comfort."

After roughly two dozen employees took cover behind and under desks, and "as soon as it calmed down a bit," everyone was ushered out a back entrance away from the lobby, Alan Hebdon said, a manager at the court.

"They're a little shaken," he said. "They're given the rest of the day off."

No judges or staff members were directly affected by the shooting, but the courthouse was cleared so the sheriff's office could investigate, Judge Robert Morris Jr. said in a statement. The courthouse is expected to be open today.

No Explosives In Backpack

Detectives from the Pinellas County Sheriff's Homicide Unit and Administrative Investigations Bureau were at the courthouse through Wednesday afternoon. A bomb-sniffing dog searched the backpack that Powell carried into the courthouse, along with his white 1998 Dodge pickup truck parked nearby. No explosives were found.

Violence in and around courthouses usually involves people who have civil and family court cases, according to Fred Wilson, director of operations for National Sheriff's Association.

"The most dangerous places are in family, domestic court and civil situations," he said.

Glen and Vivian Powell married Feb. 23, 2001, and have been separated since Sept. 2, 2006, according to court documents. Vivian Powell waived any request for alimony and the only marital asset listed in the divorce filing is a 1998 Dodge truck.

Court officials had asked Vivian Powell in a memorandum if her husband was known to have any weapons.

"Knives, hunting bow, possibly guns," was her response.

Powell was living in his parents' home at 1413 Berkshire Drive after he and Vivian separated, his mother said. His parents describe him as someone who was always a bit of a loner.

He was born in Okinawa, Japan, when his father served as a U.S. Marine, and later lived in Hawaii. He spent most of his life in Brandon, his father, Ronald Powell, said.

Neighbors said that the Powell family were seen always hanging out together working on the yard. Residents said the middle class neighborhood is quiet and families usually keep to themselves.

"This is a shocker," neighbor Lionel Yearwood said when he heard of Powell's death. "This is so weird. They just seemed like a real nice church-going family."

Bishop Scott, the family spokesman, said he last saw Powell at a church function Sunday. "He appeared to be in good spirits. There was no indication he was planning to carry out his actions," he said.

"We don't have answers. I'm not sure where the tendency toward violence comes," he said. "This was a young man who was brought up in all the right ways."

This story was written by staff writer Ray Reyes, who also contributed with staff writers Carlos Moncada, Josh Poltilove, Laura Frazier, Elaine Silvestrini and Mike Wells.