Murder suspect says he just meant to scare off car thief
Raymond Butler said he was trying to protect his 1994 Honda Civic from Curtis Paulisin, according to police.
By MICHAEL SANDLER and AARON SHAROCKMAN
Published March 29, 2004
TARPON SPRINGS - Raymond Butler told authorities he didn't intend to kill Curtis Paulisin. He just wanted to scare him away from his car.
But five days after Butler surprised Paulisin in the street and fired several shots from a 9mm semiautomatic pistol, Paulisin is dead and Butler is charged with first-degree murder.
It was all over a black, 1994 Honda Civic.
Butler, 31, was arrested Saturday night in Hernando County - just hours after neighbors noticed Paulisin, 18, floating in the retention pond near Butler's Tarpon Wood Lake apartment.
Though an exact cause of death is pending an autopsy, police say one bullet struck Paulisin, of 1503 Bookman Lane, Holiday, in the back.
The shooting happened Tuesday night.
At 8:30 p.m., Butler heard someone break a window on his car. After seeing what was happening, Butler went back into his first-floor apartment at 715 E Lime St. and returned with the gun, police say.
Paulisin ran off. Police say Butler fired several shots; one hit Paulisin in the back.
Police arrived that night to find both men had disappeared. Detectives interviewed witnesses and gathered evidence.
On Saturday afternoon, Paulisin's body was found 150 feet from Butler's apartment in the retention pond.
"We don't know exactly how he got in there," said Sgt. Jeff Young, a spokesman for the Tarpon Springs Police Department. "There's no evidence (Butler) dumped the body. (Paulisin) might have been fleeing, or fell in when he was shot and went under."
Young said detectives tracked Butler to a Wal-Mart parking lot in Spring Hill and arrested him shortly before midnight Saturday. Police say Butler said he fired in the direction of the fleeing man, but he said he only intended to scare him away.
Butler was held without bail at the Pinellas County Jail.
On Sunday, Butler's roommate said Butler was only trying to protect his property.
"If he knew he would have hit the kid, he would have done the right thing," Michael Barrs, 28, said. "He was protecting his property. He wasn't out to hurt anybody."
Barrs said Butler recently purchased the 1994 black Honda Civic and spent his free time working on the car. Butler added tinted windows, a stereo system and a rear spoiler, among other things.
"He dumped so much money in that car," Barrs said. "I would have done the same thing to scare (Paulisin) off."
Paula Lopez lives in an apartment nearby. She heard the gunshots Tuesday night, but said she did not know anyone was hurt until Saturday morning, when she walked by the lake and saw Paulisin floating near shore.
"I honestly thought it was a shopping bag at first," Lopez said. "I couldn't believe it."
Young said Butler did not have a permit for the gun and Butler's roommate said he had never seen the gun before Tuesday.
Records show Butler has been arrested several times in the past 10 years on drug charges and did not contest the charges.
Paulisin had a history of drug and burglary arrests dating back to age 14. He is the second person killed in Pinellas County this month attempting to break into a car.
Fifteen-year-old Devon Michael Davis was shot March 20 in south St. Petersburg as he was trying to steal a vehicle at the Flagler Pointe Apartments near 64th Avenue S, according to St. Petersburg police. In that case, Davis was shot by Randall Carlton Gray, 19, the boyfriend of the vehicle's owner, police said.
