INDIAN RIVER COUNTY -- Before he was
shot dead by a St. Lucie County deputy Friday, Nathan Tompkins
rummaged through his niece's storage room and found a
stranger's license plate to place on a borrowed car, according
to his family.
It was a fatal mistake, his family members said.
The stranger was a man named Todd Gerbitz, who had been
convicted of attempted first-degree murder and is currently
serving a sentence for cocaine possession, according to a
report by the Florida Department of Corrections.
Then, while family members believe Tompkins was
transporting a baby's car seat and a diaper bag, a sheriff's
deputy noted suspicious activity in his car and determined the
tag matched that of a man wanted on charges of attempted
first-degree murder and initiated a chase from Indrio Road in
St. Lucie County into Indian River County, according to
officials.
Another St. Lucie County deputy joined in the chase, which
officials said reached speeds of 100 mph and ended when
Tompkins' vehicle stopped 1 mile past the county line on
northbound U.S. 1.
Officials won't release exactly what happened after
Tompkins' vehicle stopped, but said Friday that St. Lucie
County Deputy Ronald Stickney shot and killed Tompkins, 35,
about 5:15 p.m.
On Saturday, spokesmen for the Sheriff's Offices in St.
Lucie and Indian River counties would not comment on any
further aspects of the case, other than to release Tompkins'
name, age and that he resided in St. Lucie County.
Family grieves
Now Tompkins' family is grieving the loss of a man who they
say was always polite, ready to lend a hand and never would
have given a deputy any reason to use force. His family said
they are outraged because Tompkins, a short man who weighed
135 pounds, was killed because he was mistaken for Gerbitz,
32, a 6-foot 1-inch man who weighed 190 pounds.
"He was a wonderful person," said Sheila Pearson, 48, a
niece who Tompkins called his aunt. "He would give you the
last dollar out of his pocket."
Family members said Tompkins was not without his own
problems -- he was a crack cocaine addict and was living in
St. Lucie County in violation of probation in Pasco County--
but they said he kept his problems to himself and was always
kind to others.
Tompkins, who would have celebrated his 36th birthday
Wednesday, had spent the past few years traveling across both
the west and east coasts of the state. He would stay with
relatives and work as a handyman.
His niece, Susan Brickle, 40, brought him to St. Lucie
County, because she thought she could help him. He lived with
Brickle and worked for her cleaning and painting business for
the past few months.
"All he wanted to do was get his body straight and have a
family," Brickle said.
Brickle said he borrowed her daughter's unregistered car
Friday to bring Brickle a diaper bag and child's car seat for
her grandchildren. He found Gerbitz's license plate in the
storage room because Brickle, who knew Gerbitz, was holding on
to his belongings while he was in prison. Brickle said
Tompkins probably just wanted to surprise her.
Tompkins was planning on helping 71-year-old Nina Mosher
hang paintings in her Palm Grove home Friday. When he didn't
show up, Mosher figured he hadn't been able to find
transportation and would come Saturday. She said he had worked
for her for several months.
"I know he was an addict," she said, "But aside from that,
the work he did was excellent. He was polite and courteous. He
knew his tools."
Mosher said she was shocked when she heard he was shot by a
deputy. She said it will be difficult to find a handyman as
helpful as Tompkins.
Brickle said sheriff's deputies came to her mother's house
in Fort Pierce Friday night and spent four hours speaking with
her family. She said they asked her if she wanted to accuse
Tompkins of stealing her vehicle. Brickle told them that she
didn't even own the car -- it was her daughter's and it wasn't
registered yet because it needed repairs. She told deputies
the car was not stolen.
Questions abound
Family members are still struggling to understand why
Stickney shot Tompkins. They said Tompkins was a passive
person, who despite his trouble with drugs, never hid from
police, and had previously turned himself in.
"If he's in trouble he usually stands up for what he does
wrong," Pearson said.
They said it was extremely out of character for him to flee
authorities. The only explanation Brickle could think of was
that he was scared.
His mother, Gladys Staley, 72, who will miss his "beautiful
green eyes," said he never owned a weapon.
"He didn't like guns, he didn't like knives, he always
stayed clear of this all his life," she said. Staley drove
down from her home in Kentucky after she heard the news.
Officials would not confirm if Tompkins was armed, but
family members said he was wearing only a pair of shorts when
the deputies stopped him and could not have been concealing
anything. They said he wasn't even wearing shoes.
His family is also at a loss as to why a deputy felt he
needed to shoot Tompkins, who they said had a small
unintimidating frame, and could not have held his own against
the two deputies who stopped him. Brickle could only guess
that Tompkins, who had a hearing problem, misunderstood
directions from the deputies.
"My uncle was harmless," said Crystal Pearson, 25. "He was
a tiny guy. I don't see how he could have prevented himself as
a danger to that deputy."
Brickle said she has had disagreements with the St. Lucie
County Sheriff's Office in the past, but was surprised to
learn that Stickney fired the fatal shot.
"I've never known that cop not to be a fair cop," she said.
"I just don't understand what happened. I know he was a good
officer."
Brickle said 50 to 60 of Tompkins' extended family members
would be traveling to St. Lucie County soon to protest
Tompkins' death and other injustices on the part of the
Sheriff's Office. She is on a campaign to recruit broader
support from the community.
- rachael.jackson@scripps.com
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