‘None of this makes any sense,’ says widow of Clearwater man shot during dispute over parking
September 5, 2019
CLEARWATER — This was supposed to be a week of celebration for Derek and Samantha Omasta.
The couple learned last month that Samantha was expecting a child. They were going to announce it to family and friends on Thursday, her 32nd birthday.
Instead, she started her day at a funeral home to view her husband’s body.
Police say Derek Omasta, 31, was shot by a neighbor Saturday night as the two men argued about parking in front of the duplexes where they lived. Samantha Omasta was standing a few feet away as the argument unfolded and saw her husband fall.
[...]
The confrontation between Derek Omasta and 26-year-old Deshon Powers began about 11 p.m. with a “verbal argument over a parking dispute” in front of the duplex where Powers was staying at 1133 Grove St., according to an arrest report. The Omastas live in a duplex next door.
At one point in the argument, Powers entered his apartment, retrieved a handgun and came back outside, the report says. As the two men continued to argue, witnesses told police, Powers shot Omasta. No other details have been released. Detectives were still investigating Thursday.
[...]
Records show Powers was booked into the Pinellas County Jail on Sunday morning and released late Monday night after posting $750,000 bail. He is required to wear an ankle monitor as a condition of his release.
When a reporter visited this week, no one answered the door of the unit where Powers was living.
His legal team plans to “vigorously” defend him, said Theresa Jean-Pierre Coy, one of his three attorneys.
“We believe the first-degree murder charge is premature given information that we know was available to law enforcement at the time,” Coy said. She called her client “a really nice young man with a supportive family.”
[...]
