Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Death in Red Bay: David Andrasik

David Martin Andrasik

It was 5:30 p.m. last Thursday when a dog crossed the path of David Andrasik of Red Bay. The small western Colbert County town has a leash law, and Andrasik was ostensibly upset that the dog's owners were not keeping their pet confined and out of harm's way. Stopping his car, Andrasik confronted the 17 year-old boy whom he believed to be the owner of the dog. The boy's father stated Andrasik appeared agitated and he entered the verbal altercation in support of his son.

The father also stated he asked Andrasik to leave; however, at no point did either the father or son retreat to the house to call for police. After the argument migrated into the back yard of the dog owner's property, the father stated he felt threatened and shot the 42 year-old Andrasik, a 1987 Gulf High School graduate originally from Port Richey, Florida.

Hind sight is always perfect. We may ask why Andrasik didn't simply report the misdemeanor to the appropriate party the next morning. We may never know why he decided to chastise the dog's owners for their lapse. We may never know why one of the dog's owners took matters into his own hands instead of calling for police. We do know that David Andrasik was pronounced dead at approximately 6:00 p.m. A spokesperson for Red Bay Hospital said Andrasik died from a single gunshot to the chest. His death will be presented to a Franklin County grand jury to determine if the shooter will be tried for felony murder or some lesser crime.
The Red Bay Police have not yet announced the name of the shooter, but we will publish it as soon as it's made available.

Each case is different, and certainly each county prosecutor has his or her own personal litmus tests to apply to such crimes. Still, there is a great similarity to the shooting of Anthony Hunt in 2006. Hunt entered his former father-in-law's property in Lauderdale County where he attacked Neler Keeton. The elderly Keeton then shot Hunt three times, causing the younger man's death. Keeton is now serving a prison sentence for his unfortunate over-reaction to Hunt's attack.

Besides being employed in production at Sunshine Mills in Red Bay, David Andrasik had a keen interest in martial arts. According to Florida corporation records, the shooting victim owned a half interest in a martial arts enterprise, Pasco Himitsu Dojo, in New Port Richey. Andrasik was also step-father to two children, as well as having a new infant who turned two weeks-old on November 5th. Our contacts at Sunshine Mills have told us David was well liked by everyone and the entire plant has been in shock over his violent death.

We wish to offer our sincerest sympathies to David's widow Carla, his family, and his friends who have vowed to fight for the truth. Rest assured we will follow this case as it is presented to the Franklin County grand jury.



Shoalanda