Oneco man dies a hero

TIFFANY TOMPKINS-CONDIE

Jason DeMarzian, center, with his son, Joshua and former girlfriend, Jennifer Hernandez in a photo taken one year ago.--photo by Tiffany Tompkins-Condie/ttompkins@bradenton.com

8001 W. Hillsborough Ave. Tampa, FL 33615

By CARL MARIO NUDI

cnudi@bradenton.com

MANATEE - It wasn't out of character for Jason DeMarzian of Oneco to go out of his way to help someone.

"He was always there when someone needed him," his aunt, Cathy Tierney, said today.

DeMarzian, 25, died trying to help a woman who was robbed outside a Tampa drug store on Wednesday, according to a Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office report.

The woman was leaving the pharmacy on Hillsborough Avenue when a man grabbed from her hands the prescription pills she just picked up.

The robber jumped into a waiting, four-door Honda, and the driver, a blond woman, sped out of the parking lot.

DeMarzian saw the robbery and pursued the Honda on his 2001 Suzuki motorcycle.

As he sped down Hillsborough Avenue in pursuit of the suspect, the driver of a Ford Explorer pulled in front of DeMarzian. The collision killed DeMarzian at the scene.

"I just spent four hours talking with him the night before," said sister, Tara DeMarzian. "We were joking around.

"My son asked him if he can sit on his motorcycle," she said, "and he said, 'No, motorcycles are dangerous.' "

DeMarzian lived with his father in Oneco and worked as a house painter, his relatives said.