SEPT 2026. Blues Vol 42 No.9

AROUND THE COUNTRY PASCO

AROUND THE COUNTRY PASCO CNTY, FL. Florida deputy kidnaps, kills woman before killing himself. By Joanna Putman, Police 1 PASCO COUNTY, FL. — A Florida deputy kidnapped and killed a woman before fatally shooting himself, WFLA reported. Pasco County deputies received an initial report of an aggravated assault around 5:35 p.m. on Aug. 10, according to the sheriff’s office. The call was later updated to a kidnapping. The woman and her children, ages 9 and 12, had returned from a day at the beach when they found Pinellas County Sheriff’s Deputy Troy Savetz waiting in the yard, Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco said during a news conference. Savetz and the woman had been involved in what authorities described as a “tumultuous relationship.” When she and her children returned from the beach, she and Savetz argued over a TV set, authorities said. Savetz took the woman’s her phone when she tried to call 911, WFLA reported. The victim then told her children to run outside and call the police. One of the children identified Savetz by name and told dispatchers that he was a Pinellas County deputy, according to the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies arrived and secured 44 The BLUES SEPTEMBER ‘26 the children before searching the home. They found the woman’s vehicle, phone and other belongings outside, but neither she nor Savetz was there. Investigators learned Savetz had left with the woman in a rental car. After several unsuccessful attempts to reach them by phone, authorities began searching for the vehicle. The Florida Highway Patrol, Pinellas and Hernando county sheriff’s offices, K-9 teams, drones and aviation units assisted, CBS News reported. Deputies eventually found the rental car in the 16800 block of Platinum Drive in Spring Hill. Savetz and the woman were inside, both dead from gunshot wounds. Investigators classified the deaths as a murder-suicide, but have not said when the shootings occurred. The woman’s name has not been released. Her children were placed in the custody of their biological father. Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco stated that the children “did a phenomenal job” in calmly conveying essential information to dispatchers. Savetz had worked for the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office for 14 years and was assigned to the Marine Unit.

There really is no way to put into words the devastation left behind by the floods in the Texas Hill County. The loss of life, especially those lost from the camps along what was the peaceful Guadalupe River, is just incomprehensible. If you’re the sheriff or police chief of the town in the center of the disaster, you are obligated to hold daily press conferences. You share what you know and when you knew it. That’s what Kerr County Sheriff Larry L. Leitha tried to do. But each time he stood in front of the cameras, the idiots from the mainstream media, launched into their blame-game questions. Owning a police magazine means you must wear two hats, one of a First Responder and another as a representative of the media. While I am proud to be a member of the first, I am embarrassed to admit I have anything to do with the latter. The outright disrespect I witnessed from the media towards the officials in Kerrville, just trying to do their jobs in unimaginable circumstances, was unbelievable. Sheriff Leitha showed great restraint in dealing with these lowlife reporters. Most I assume were not from Texas. His job was hard enough without Monday Morning Quarterbacks criticizing him for his every move. I wish my good friend Sheriff Grady Judd from Florida could spend a day NEW RELEASE BUY NOW/CLICK OR TAP HERE ** INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS - We ship to Great Britain, Canada and Australia, plus Military Bases all over the World. SPECIAL MEMORIAL ON PAGE 229 The BLUES - SEPTEMBER ‘26 45