Dangerous Duties Of Pasco’s Past Sheriff’s Deputies: Enforcing Immigration

Today, when we hear news reports of immigrants being illegally smuggled into our country, we seldom imagine that the setting for such activities could be Pasco County.

Yet, in 1924 Pasco sheriff’s deputies were busy all along the county’s west coast patrolling for undocumented immigrants who were brought ashore by boats usually from Cuba and typically bound for Tampa.

One such incident, reported in local newspapers, unfolded on Wednesday, May 7, 1924, when a group of local fishermen spotted a boat signaling the shoreline with a large search light near the mouth of Trouble Creek. Suspicious, the men quit fishing and returned to the creek to notify the sheriff’s deputy at Elfers.

When they reached Trouble Creek, they saw three automobiles waiting for their load of immigrants, but they fled the scene at the sight of the approaching fishing boat.

Making landfall somewhere between Baillie’s Bluff and Trouble Creek, around midnight the next night, three big touring cars loaded with men were observed by Deputy Elzie Hudson going through downtown Elfers, headed towards Odessa.

Upon reaching Odessa, the three cars were stopped by Deputy M.K. Anderson who arrested 25 immigrants, mostly Italians. While Anderson was busy inland, U.S. Customs agents were busy offshore as they boarded the smuggling vessel and arrested another 40 undocumented ailens, along with the crew.

This is only one of numerous such sweeps by local deputies patrolling the county’s densely wooded coastline.

Two months later, on July 6, 1924, during a joint operation, a group of local deputies and U.S. Immigration agents nabbed another 42 immigrants here illegally in the woods near Bayonet Point; the arrested party reportedly consisting of twenty-five Italians, nine Spaniards, five Greeks, and three Portuguese.

According to a story told by one of the arrested, they were brought from Cuba aboard a sailing smack and landed here at night. Taken off the smack in small boats, they were run within two miles of the Pasco County coast, at Bayonet Point, where they were put out and made to wade ashore in the pitch black of night.

While wading, one immigrant was stung on the ankle by a stingray and had to have a doctor’s care. Another stated that they paid $200 each for their passage from Havana to Florida and that during their voyage they had no food for three days and no water for 24 hours.

In both instances, the arrested immigrants were transported to Tarpon Springs and then to Tampa, where they were deported according to law.

However, not all patrols were as successful. In September 1924 sheriff’s deputy John Pittman was shot and seriously wounded near today’s intersection of State Road 52 and U.S. Highway 19 while watching for undocumented immigrants smuggled into the country.

At about 2:30 a.m., being informed that a group of aliens had again landed near Bayonet Point, Pittman, accompanied by Deputy L.H. Meeth of New Port Richey, parked along the side of U.S. 19 waiting for any sign of the immigrants. Sitting on the running board of Pittman’s car, they had only been there a few minutes when a car came down the road from Hudson.

Both deputies stepped into the road with their flashlights but neither had their guns drawn. When Pittman ordered the car to stop, the driver stepped on the gas and at the same time the front seat passenger opened fire, empting a .38 Smith & Wesson revolver at the deputies-- one shot hitting Pittman in the stomach.

As Pittman dropped to the ground, Meeth reportedly caught him, while, at the same time, he whipped his gun out and returned fire on the speeding car, shooting at the tires.

Meeth helped Pittman into their car and headed south towards New Port Richey for help, passing the suspect car with a flat tire. Dropping Pittman at the home of Oscar Herms, Meeth phoned for backup and a doctor-- then, on foot, headed to the intersection of today’s Circle Boulevard and Grand Boulevard, the only southern road out of town.

As the car approached the intersection, Meeth, wielding a borrowed shotgun, ordered the vehicle to stop. He arrested two men and a woman from Crystal River, who had no involvement in the smuggling of illegal immigrants.

They later stated that they had mistaken the deputies for highway robbers and taking no chances, fired upon them. They were taken and jailed in Tarpon Springs.

Pittman later recovered from his wounds and eventually returned to patrol the coast for immigrants here illegally.

Eventually the Pasco County coast proved to be too risky with increased routine patrols by local deputies and U.S. Immigration agents, which ultimately caused these activities to cease.

This is the first article in a series that will recount the many "Dangerous Duties of Past Pasco Sheriff's Deputies."