Murder suspect fires at task force members, including a Polk deputy, and is fatally shot
Members of a U.S. Marshals fugitive task force, including a Polk County sheriff's deputy, fatally shot a murder suspect who opened fire on them as they tried to take him into custody in Riverview on Tuesday, authorities said.
Task force members shot Don Robert Astor, 39, after he opened fire on them from the passenger seat of an SUV that the task force tried to stop near the intersection of Magnolia Park Boulevard and Canopy Lane, near the Magnolia Park Apartments, Hillsborough Sheriff Chad Chronister said at a news conference at the scene.
No one else was injured in the incident.
Astor was wanted on a first-degree murder charge in New York from 2009 and had been federally indicted for failing to register as a sex offender, Chronister said. According to the sheriff, Astor was also a member of the Latin Kings gang.
“A true and real bad guy,” Chronister said.
Members of the task force, which includes U.S marshals and personnel from Tampa Bay law enforcement agencies, learned that Astor was in the area. As the task force members began to set up surveillance, they saw Astor get into the passenger side of a blue Acura RDX, Chronister said. Astor’s stepson, 19-year-old Angel Torres Vallejo, was driving and a third person was sitting in the back seat.
The task force tried to make a “tactical traffic stop” on Magnolia Park Boulevard, boxing in the Acura from the front and rear, Chronister said.
“The driver decides that, hey, my stepdad’s not going to jail today, I‘ll get you out of here and continue that attempt to elude arrest,” Chronister said.
Torres stepped on the gas and rammed a task force vehicle that had pulled in behind the Acura, and the task force members boxed in the SUV even tighter, Chronister said. A Polk County sheriff’s deputy approached the driver side and two Tampa police officers took positions near the passenger side.
At that point, Astor reached across his stepson and opened fire from the passenger seat in the direction of the Polk deputy, according to Chronister. The deputy returned fire and the two Tampa officers also fired on Astor, who was hit an unspecified number of times. He died at the scene.
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Torres was arrested. His charges were not immediately released.
Authorities have not released the names of the Polk deputy or the Tampa officers. Tampa police Chief Lee Bercaw said the officers have more than 20 years of experience.
Scott Wilder, head of communications for the Polk County Sheriff's Office told The Ledger that the undercover deputy who was assigned to the task force is on administrative leave pending an initial review of the shooting, which is standard practice.
Chronister said investigators were working to learn how long Astor has been in the Tampa Bay area and what connections, if any, he has here. Chronister did not have details about the New York murder case.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the shooting.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Task force, including Polk deputy, fatally shoots murder suspect
