A Florida Department of Law Enforcement report has cleared a Plant City officer of fatally shooting a man who had repeatedly stabbed his girlfriend and set fire to her home in November.
Trung Thanh Do, 31, was holding his girlfriend, Maria De Los Angeles Romano, 43, against her will and refused to follow police orders to let her go. He had set fire to her home with two children inside and was stabbing her.
Plant City Police officer James Burchett shot Do through his left eye.
Romano was able to crawl out the window.
Burchett was placed on administrative leave in early November while FDLE investigated the incident, which is standard in a police shooting.
The report said his use of force was justified.
Do broke into Romano’s home at 107 S Maryland Ave. in Plant City just before 4 a.m. Nov. 11. According to the report, Do stabbed her in the chest and arms several times. He then lit her house on fire because Romano had dumped him. He had previously told her he would kill if she did not take him back, the report said.
Police arrived, along with Plant City Fire Rescue, after receiving a call that four people were inside the burning house. Officer Burchett helped the two children, Wendy Gonzalez, 18, and Maria Guevara, 13, out the window, the report said. Frantic, Maria told Burchett that Do had stabbed her mother in the back bedroom.
Burchett and Officer Jeffrey Hilsman then rushed to the back of the house and, through a closed window, saw Do wrapping his arms around Romano, the report said. Smoke was filling the room, and Do was refusing to drop Romano and leave the house, so Burchett and Hilsman shattered the window with their batons.
According to the report, both officers said Do tried to pull Romano further into the house. They both took out their weapons and Burchett fired a single shot.
The teens were uninjured. Romano was rescued and treated. State records show Do had no criminal past in Florida – only a traffic ticket in Hillsborough County from August 2014.
Contact Zack Peterson at zpeterson@tampabay.com.
