PAGE 3 - May 27, 2009
The Newscaster/Nature Coast News
Citrus Icon “Chicken King”
Robbery- Stabbing   - From page 1
Swiggett. "He rolled under the car, then broke off and ran into the swamp as I was drawing my
Restaurant Closes After 35 Years
gun." But Jeter was gone in an instant, and the sky was pitch black.
Sgt. Swiggett allowed the Levy County Sheriff's Office (LCSO) to take charge while
By Newscaster Photojournalist Mike Moore
he received medical treatment. Swiggett sustained five puncture wounds, one to his neck, and
two punctures toward the back of each shoulder. Swiggett said he was more sore from fighting
A crew of workers shuffle around moving loose items and packing them in cardboard
with Jeter than he was from any of his wounds. He said the sheriff's office had recovered the
boxes while the clanging sound of pots and pans rings out from the kitchen. The sign on the
throwing star.
door says "sorry, we're closing" and the mood inside is somber. The Chicken King, an iconic
Officers tracked Jeter for about three hours, until 7:15 a.m., when the bloodhounds
Citrus County restaurant is in it's last throes.
located him in the marsh approximately 200 yards from where Sgt. Swiggett had first encoun-
The owner, Dave Hunter, directs the activity. He says with a decisive nod of the head
tered him. Jeter was taken into custody after a brief struggle and was transported to shore by
that his business was a victim of the economy. "A good bit of our business was from the
members of the Yankeetown U.S. Coast Guard Station.
construction tradesmen, he says, when the construction business turned down, we lost a
Jeter was charged with the attempted homicide of a police officer and booked into
good part of our income." Mr. Hunter had only owned the restaurant 2 months when tragedy
the Levy County Jail. It is likely that he will be transported to Alabama to face the federal
struck and a devastating fire destroyed everything in the building. After rebuilding, which
armed robbery charge.
took several months, business was "great", but immediately started a downward turn in line
In addition to the Inglis Police Department and the LSCO, K-9 units and officers who
with the national economic crisis.
responded to the call included the Citrus County Sheriff's Office, the Florida Fish and Wildlife
As he explains it, "we thought we had reached a low plateau, but then it went even
Conservation Commission, the State of Florida Department of Corrections and the Yankee-
worse." At that moment a patron edges the door open and jokingly asks for a two-piece
town Florida U.S. Coast Guard Station.
combo plate and a cup of coffee. The patron, a regular customer is sad about the closing but
Sgt. Swiggett was treated and released from Seven Rivers Regional Medical Center
stays and banters with the packing crew. Of specific interest in the conversation is the future
in Crystal River with non-life-threatening injuries. He is expected to make a full recovery and
of the restaurant. "We'd like to think about relocating, says Mr. Hunter, but at this point we are
returned to work on Monday evening in his capacity as Inglis Patrol Unit Supervisor. Sgt.
permanently out of business."
Swiggett has been with the IPD since 2005 and received a promotion to sargeant in December
(2008). He has two associate degrees from Tallahassee Community College, one in arts and the
other in criminal justice. He is married and has a young daughter. See Sgt. Swiggett's Letter of
Thanks on page 11.
According to Atmore Public Safety Director Glenn Carlee, Jeter walked into the
Atmore National Bank & Trust with a 22 caliber semi-automatic rifle, plopped a carrying bag
on the counter, demanded money, and fled the scene with an undisclosed amount of money.
According to bank surveillance photos, Jeter was driving an older model white GMC pickup
truck that had a camper shell on the truck bed. The camper shell was found, burned and
discarded, in Walnut Hill, Florida on Wednesday. According to Swiggett, Jeter had spray-
painted the white GMC pickup truck a blue color.
Carlee said that Jeter has a history of mental illness and was believed to be without
medication. A search of Jeter’s mobile home on Tuesday evening turned up several “threaten-
ing” letters, according to Carlee. “We found letters he had written about military surveillance
and aircraft, blaming them for loss of jobs,” he said. “He also had a map of military installations
around the area." Authorities in Atmore had consequently notified several military installa-
tions: Whiting Field in Fort Walton, Florida; NAS in Pensacola, Florida and Fort Rucker in
Coffee County, Alabama. According to reports, Jeter has made statements that he would kill
law enforcement agents. Officials also released information that Jeter might be in a relation-
ship with a female who resides in the Ft. Rucker, Alabama area.
The Atmore Police Department was assisted by several agencies, as well, the FBI,
the Poarch Police Department, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Offices in Alabama and Florida
and the Alabama Highway Patrol.
Hernando’s famous Chicken King Restaurant, fire survivor, it's wooden rooster,
sits amidst items to be packed up as the iconic eatery shuts down business
and closes it's doors. A seemingly quick finish in the end, the Citrus County
establishment has served fried chicken and trimmings to locals for 35 years.
Newscaster Photo by Mike Moore
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