Sheriff Gee: Deputy's Shot Kills 'Career Criminal'

His rap sheet was long, said Hillsborough County Sheriff David Gee, in reference to the 50-year-old white male who was fatally shot by a deputy in Seffner on May 14.

According to Gee, who spoke to reporters at the scene at around 3:30 p.m., the man was "on our radar over the last few days, involved in some violent crimes."

His name was being withheld, pending notification of his next of kin.

• UPDATE (Posted 7:30 p.m.) - . The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office identified the slain man, offering as well additional facts about the deputy involved shooting.

"I will tell you he is a 50-year-old white male, he is a multi-state offender, he has done time in another state, [having] been charged with murder [and] robbery," Gee said.

He added that the man had 14 felony charges in Florida and eight felony convictions, as well as charges in Kansas dating back to 1993. He had been in the Florida state prison system at least six times since 2002, prompting Gee to label the man a "career criminal."

"And of course the big question," Gee added, is "why this guy was even out here today."

The man was shot at 904 West Wheeler Road, after Detective Jack Thompson, an 18-year sheriff's office veteran, arrived on the scene, "as part of our continuing effort to reduce violent crime in East Hillsborough County," Gee said.

He noted that names are recognized weekly as part of the office's "intelligence-led policing program" to rid streets of the most-wanted violent offenders.

As Detective Thompson awaited backup, the man grabbed his firearm "and snatched it off of his clothing," Gee said. A struggle ensued, inside a red jeep, to gain control of the weapon from its retention holster, which is what deputy Manuel "Manny" Gonzalez, a 16-year-veteran, reportedly saw as he arrived on the scene "within two minutes" of the struggle's start, Gee added.

"Thompson communicated that the suspect had his firearm and [Gonzalez] fired one round, striking the suspect," Gee said. The suspect, who was transported to Tampa General Hospital, "died as a result of that gunshot wound," Gee said.

His name was being withheld until notification of next of kin.

Gee said the man did not live on Wheeler Road, but that he lived "within a couple miles of this location, in Seffner." More specifically, this was the man's last known address. "Whether or not he was still living at this address, we don't know," Gee added.