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By RHONDA PARKER
News Chief

Robert Streeter, a 45-year-old worker in the phosphate mines, did all he could to raise his kids right.

"I was raised in church, and I tried to lead by example. I work hard, and I took my family to church. I didn't just send my kids, I went with them," he said.

Streeter raised two daughters, now in their 20s and in the armed forces. For his only son, Sylathum, friends, family members and local school staff and administrators said Streeter bent over backwards to keep him on the right track. He worked two jobs to afford tuition to Landmark Baptist High School in an effort to keep his son away from bad influences.

Now Sylathum, along with two other Ridge teens, awaits trial on charges of murder and attempted murder in connection with two shooting sprees in April that left two dead and seven injured.

"I am a very disciplined father. I've always been strict, but as every parent knows, each child is different, and you have to take a different approach to each one if you're going to reach out to them. I mostly tried to provide a stable home for my kids," said Streeter, who has worked at the same job for 23 years, raised his family in the same house in Dundee, and was married to Sylathum's mother, Leanna, for 24 years.

"My kids were proud of their family. I know Sylathum considered himself blessed and he would talk about friends whose moms were out running around, or they didn't have a dad in the home."

For the first time in the interview, at the Winter Haven office of his son's attorney, Byron Hileman, Streeter, still in his work clothes from the day's shift, turned his steady gaze to his folded hands.

He stated adamantly that he wasn't there to make excuses for his 16-year-old son.

The state attorney's office is now seeking the death penalty for Curtis Shuler, 16, and Victor Lester, 17, both of Haines City, and Sylathum. The Haines City High School students were arrested on the morning of May 1 and charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder.

"I don't condone what those boys did, and I can't even begin to know why. The hurt in my heart won't ever go away, but the pain is for the families of the victims as much as my own. We were all victimized that night," he said.

East Polk County residents were stunned by reports from transcripts from law enforcement interviews that told of how three boys laughed and joked at school the next day when they heard that the first shooting victim, 32-year-old Larry Steven Tyler, had died from a gunshot wound received in the struggle with one of his assailants.

Streeter also told investigators of his role in shots fired in a local hotel room that wounded all five members of a Georgia family visiting the area, including 10-year-old Vickie Smith, who was shot in the face as she lay on the bed, and her grandmother, who was shot in the arm.

Streeter said he told the little woman to "shut up" but she wouldn't stop screaming.

He is charged with the murder of 20-year-old Kristina Large, a young wife and mother, who was shot when she drove up to a stop sign with her cousin and another passenger.

The boys said their intent in the shootings was robbery, but they also admitted to receiving a "thrill" from the shootings, reports said.

Looking for answers

People who know the law-abiding, church-going families of the boys, and friends and former teachers of the gregarious Shuler and the reticent, almost painfully polite Streeter, continue to discuss the crimes and why they occurred.

"I have agonized over this, but don't have an answer. Everybody thinks they know their child. Everybody thinks, 'Not my child, they wouldn't do something like this,'" said Streeter. "After all this happened, I was like Job in the Bible. I've been through the stage of 'Why me? Why my family?' You think this is never going to happen to your family. This wouldn't be your son, but then it is, and I don't have any answers."

On the afternoon of April 30, Robert Streeter returned from his shift at the phosphate mines to find his son once again not at home after violating his community control curfew that past Sunday.

After receiving a frantic call from Sylathum's girlfriend that his son was out with "thugs," Streeter called the Polk County Sheriff's Office to report the violation, but was told he would have to contact Sylathum's probation officer.

Streeter said he called every hour for about three or four hours, and left messages on the supervisor's answering machine, but did not receive a call back. The next morning, when his son had not come home, he took off from work and visited the probation office.

After telling him she would probably count the violation against his son, Streeter said the officer asked him if he'd heard about the shootings.

"I never even considered that my son would be involved. I didn't even give it further thought at the time. I was worried -- you think you know your child, and this is not something you think he would do," he said.

Streeter said he had gone to school with one of the other boys' family members, but he didn't know the boys Sylathum was out with.

"I didn't know who they were. Sylathum never talked about them. They'd never been to my house when I was there. I know who my son is when I'm around, but when I'm off at work -- and the fact is, a lot of parents have to work nowadays, it's a necessity -- and when you're off at work this child may not be the one you know."

After returning home, Streeter was informed by a detective he'd known for years that his son had been arrested and charged with murder.

"We've had a lot of support from our church. My co-workers and people on the job have been wonderful to me. But unless you've been there, it's hard to imagine what a parent goes through with something like this."

"Perfect family" falls apart

Streeter described his son as a respectful, obedient child, but one who may have been hurting after the foundation of the happy, close family he was so proud of suddenly crumbled beneath him.

When the elder Streeter was diagnosed with cancer and his wife left the family, he knew his son was having a hard time coping.

"I don't think he ever accepted the divorce or the way it went down. He thought he had the perfect family," said the elder Streeter, his voice beginning to tremble. "I tried to be there for my son ... I felt he might be depressed and like most children in a divorce I think his hopes were shattered when I remarried. He knew then that momma was not coming back -- that his family was not going to come back together," Streeter said.

Outwardly, his son remained the same quiet, shy individual, who was respectful to his father, stepmother and siblings, and praised by school officials, church members and other adults for his extreme politeness.

He attended chapel and excelled at Bible classes at Landmark. He was an active member of his church youth group and even preached before the congregation.

"Everybody loved him. His friends at Landmark are still the ones who come to see him. The people at church thought the world of him," Streeter said of his son.

Still, there were the little signs of danger a parent can see.

"I could take away privileges from Sylathum, and unlike most teens, who are going to fight with you, Sylathum just waited it out. He was difficult in the sense that I could try to get him to talk to me and tell me what was on his mind, but he held it in," Streeter said.

Early in the 1997 school year, Sylathum's girlfriend became pregnant and he was forced to leave Landmark because of the school's strict rules, which included no teen parents.

In July of last year, he was placed under community control for a felony assault of a Polk County school bus driver.

Still, Streeter said he was unprepared for the knock on his door from a Polk County sheriff's detective.

"I think all of us as parents and as a society need to look at what's going on with our kids. In the old days we were told 'an idle mind is the devil's workshop.' We don't have places where our kids can go where they can have fun and be supervised. Their parents are off at work to pay the bills, they have nothing to do so they turn to each other."

They have music and TV programs and videos that are all geared toward the kids and put an emphasis on what they wear, who they run with, and on rebellion against society, and violence. Twenty years ago, a kid might get in a fight. A group of kids might pull a prank. But today, the prank might involve a gun."

Threats follow

In spite of rumors in the community, Streeter said he didn't feel in his heart the shootings were racially motivated.

"I can't say I can even begin to know what was in these boys' minds and hearts that night. I can't say why these kids did what they did. All I can say is I didn't raise my child this way," he said, adding that his family was the first of three black families in their predominantly white church.

"He had friends of all races at Landmark and at the high school. The kids from Landmark still come to see him, and he has written letters to our church, mainly to ask forgiveness for what has happened."

Still, race has been a factor for the Streeter family. They have had to move from their home in Dundee because of hate letters and threats of retribution.

After receiving a note in their mailbox, "He should fry, and you should too," the Streeters moved, but they have also suffered some problems in their new location.

"My wife is terrified, and I still have a young stepson at home. Nothing has happened, thank God."

Streeter has reported incidents to the sheriff's office and to U.S. Postal Service authorities, but said he has never received a reply. He said he doesn't really blame local law enforcement for glossing over the racial threats and incidents.

"I think they are trying to do the best for the community, and I think they are fearful. We all are, because nobody wants to fuel that fire," said Streeter.

Streeter also expressed concerns that local media accounts of the shootings might taint a jury pool in Polk County.

"I am concerned about a fair trial. People believe what they read and they form an impression. People are reacting with all this emotion, but there are things people don't know about all of this that can't be talked about right now," he said.

"There are a lot of victims in this"

Concerning the announcement by the State Attorney's Office this month that it will seek the death penalty, Streeter remained reserved.

As a father, he said he has always tried to teach his children that they are accountable for their actions.

"I've told my son, whatever goes on now in all this, I'm here to support you, but daddy can't make this go away. I can't help what they do or bail you out of this one. You have to be accountable."

He said he has always been in support of the death penalty, but does feel there are circumstances and mitigating factors that must be taken into account.

"I have seen cases where the death penalty is well-deserved, but I do think there are circumstances that have to be looked at, like a person's mental capabilities or emotional traumas. Age is the same thing. Who among us is mature and fully understands the consequences of our actions at 16 years old?"

Streeter said he is concerned that the state is trying to make an example of his son and the other boys as youth offenders.

There were no tears during the interview, and Streeter seemed reluctant to offer excuses for his son's actions.

"I know that even right now, my son is in a place where I can see him and talk to him. In my heart, I recognize the pain of these families that will never see their child again because of what happened. It hurts that it happened ... that they did these things. Nothing that happens from here on out will make the pain go away for my family or for these others who are suffering. There are a lot of victims in this, and a lot of people whose lives will never be the same."