Northpinellas: New details revealed in fatal shooting

TARPON SPRINGS -- More than eight months after 26-year-old Shawn McMillan died from a gunshot to the head after a night of drinking, there are two new developments in the case.

First, prosecutors have charged two of McMillan's acquaintances with recklessly handling the pistol that killed him shortly before he died.

Second, after interviewing 22 witnesses over several months, prosecutors found no evidence to contradict the Tarpon Springs Police Department's conclusion that the fatal gunshot was self-inflicted, chief assistant state attorney Bruce Bartlett said Thursday.

Prosecutors Wednesday charged 25-year-old Daniel Nordmark of Tarpon Springs with using a firearm while intoxicated. Nordmark, a state corrections officer, handled the .25-caliber handgun outside the British Pub on Klosterman Road on Sept. 2, a couple of hours or less before McMillan was shot.

Nordmark's friend, Bernie Dillman, 24, of Palm Harbor, was charged with firing the gun in the parking lot of the British Pub that night. The gun was aimed in the air and did not hurt anyone, Bartlett said.

"We basically conducted an investigation into the series of events," Bartlett said. "These two charges were criminal charges that needed to be addressed."

Nordmark's charge is a second-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to 60 days in jail. Dillman's charge is a first-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail.

No further charges are expected, Bartlett said.

McMillan's mother, Dunedin attorney Michaela Mahoney, has complained that the Tarpon Springs Police Department covered for Nordmark, who works at Zephyrhills Correctional Institute, because he is in law enforcement. She has questioned whether her son was murdered.

Her complaints led the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to do its own investigation of the shooting. FDLE then turned its findings over to prosecutors, who investigated further.

During the State Attorney's Office investigation, Mahoney's attorney, John Trevena, asked that a special prosecutor be appointed because he feared that prosecutors would protect Nordmark.

On Thursday, Trevena said a special prosecutor wasn't needed after all. The State Attorney's Office did the best it could, given the "botched" investigation by the Tarpon Springs Police Department, he said.

"She's pleased that the state has at least filed something," he said of Mahoney. "She is convinced that manslaughter occurred in this case (but) we'll never know."

Mahoney likewise said she will never know "unless someone comes out with the truth."

Earlier this year, Tarpon Springs police defended their investigation, saying that even if they had done more, the outcome probably would have been the same. Police denied covering up for Nordmark.

Bartlett would not comment on the Tarpon Springs police investigation. He said the state attorney's conclusions about the police investigation would be released when other investigative materials are supplied to the defense.

Dillman and Nordmark did not return telephone calls Thursday. Nordmark's attorney, Mark Gruwell, declined to comment.

While evidence points to the fatal shot being self-inflicted, Bartlett said, he would not comment on whether it was accidental, as the Tarpon Springs Police Department determined, or suicide, as the Medical Examiner's Office found.

McMillan, a 1999 Florida State University graduate who was about to start a job with American Express, was out drinking the night of Sept. 1 and early in the morning of Sept. 2, according to police reports and witness accounts.

On the night of the shooting, Nordmark told police he was drunk, but said he and McMillan were at a different bar.

Witnesses later told investigators from the State Attorney's Office that Nordmark handled the gun in the parking lot of the British Pub but did not fire it, Bartlett said. Dillman was seen shooting Nordmark's gun, a Sundance Laser 25 with a built-in laser sight, Bartlett said.

It isn't clear how the weapon got into McMillan's hands, but some witnesses said he asked for the gun, Bartlett said.

Nordmark told police that he gave McMillan the gun to hold during an argument with some other bar patrons.

Later, as his sister-in-law, Rita Nordmark, gave Nordmark and McMillan a ride home, Nordmark asked for the gun back. As McMillan handed the .25-caliber gun from the back seat forward to Nordmark, it went off, Nordmark and his sister-in-law told police.

The bullet hit McMillan in the right temple. They rushed to nearby Helen Ellis Memorial Hospital. Since the hospital had no neurosurgeon on duty, McMillan was flown to Bayfront Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Based on the blood splatter in the car, the absence of blood on Nordmark's shirt and other evidence, Tarpon Springs police Sgt. Al MacKenzie ruled the gunshot was accidental and self-inflicted. He closed the investigation within two days.

MacKenzie, the head of the department's detective unit, did not question Dillman or investigate the events that are the subject of the new charges against Nordmark and Dillman.

In response, Mahoney has criticized police for closing the case too quickly, for releasing the car to the Nordmarks within hours of the shooting, for not conducting gunshot residue tests on Nordmark, for not charging Nordmark and for not interviewing Dillman. She also has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Nordmark. The suit is pending.

On Thursday, police Capt. Ron Holt generally declined to comment on the case. He did say the British Pub is in the jurisdiction of the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, not the Police Department.

"It has nothing to do with the death investigation," he said of events outside the pub.

It is unclear whether Nordmark faces any disciplinary action at work because of the charge.

Nordmark is required to tell his supervisor about the charge, said Debbie Buchanan, a spokeswoman for the Department of Corrections. The case will be turned over to the personnel department, which will make a decision along with the warden at Zephyrhills on what action to take, she said.

Back to North Pinellas news

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright

Special Links

Mary Jo Melone

Howard Troxler

From the Times
North Pinellas desks