By CANDACE J. SAMOLINSKI

The Tampa Tribune

RIVERVIEW - Neighbors were finishing their morning coffee when Sanford Street erupted in gunfire early Sunday.

The typically quiet, middle-class community became the scene of a homicide investigation hours after a man fired at least six pistol shots into 10502 Sanford St. at about 7:45 a.m., according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.

Barbara Adams said she heard shouting and looked outside in time to see a man across the street pointing a gun at her neighbor, Thomas “Bo” Cannon.

“I had never seen anything like that except on television or in the movies,” she said. “I couldn’t believe it was happening here.”

Three hours later, Cannon, 42, was pronounced dead at Brandon Community Hospital, and a search was on for the suspect. Tammi Cannon stood outside the house Sunday - steps from where she had married her husband in the back yard - and doubled over with grief upon hearing news of his death. The couple celebrated their first anniversary May 28.

The suspect came to the Cannons’ house Sunday to settle a money dispute over electrical work he was hired to do, sheriff’s spokeswoman Debbie Carter said. The suspect, who goes by the nickname “Devo,” was described as black, 5 feet 6 to 6 feet, with a stocky build and a mustache and goatee. He drove a white, late model four-door car. No arrest had been made by Sunday evening.

Cannon’s father-in-law, Bob Peterson, said the suspect was doing electrical work in the kitchen of the Sanford Street home. Tammi Cannon, too distraught to be interviewed, told her father about a telephone call from the suspect Saturday night where the man argued with her husband.

“He called up here Saturday night and asked when he could get his money,” Peterson said. “Then, he drove up here this morning demanding to be paid. The work wasn’t finished, so Bo didn’t want to pay the fellow.”

Witnesses told detectives Cannon and the suspect argued. Cannon used a metal pipe to try to keep the suspect from getting into the car to retrieve a pistol, Peterson said. The suspect is accused of grabbing the pistol from beneath the passenger’s seat and firing at Cannon as he ran into the house to warn others. Carter said Cannon was shot in the head after he entered the house.

“This maniac just kept firing right into the house; I’ll bet he didn’t even know he hit anybody,” Peterson said.

It could have been worse, Detective Sgt. Mike Willette said. Six other people inside the house escaped injury, and a front bay window was riddled with bullet holes. Crime scene technicians used an extension ladder to inspect the roof for more damage and worked inside to trace bullet trajectories.

A bullet penetrated a couch where an 18-year-old man had been asleep, Peterson said. Cannon’s screams awakened the man, who rolled onto the floor in time to avoid being shot.

Friends and relatives gathered outside the house Sunday afternoon to offer consolation, as neighbors looked on from inside their homes.

Neighbors had mixed feelings about “Bo” Cannon, whom they described as disruptive and frequently argumentative. Most, though, expressed sympathy for his wife, who they said has endured enough grief to last a lifetime.

Tammi Cannon has lived in the neighborhood since 1996, according to property records. Her father said it’s the second time in five years that she will bury a husband. Her first husband, Bobby, died Oct. 29, 2000, after a stroke.

“My poor daughter, just a few short years ago her first husband died after spending a week in the hospital on life-support,” Peterson said. “I’m afraid this might be her breaking point. I sure hope not.”

Contact Candace J. Samolinski at (813) 865-4842 or e-mail csamolinski@tampatrib.com.

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