Page 2 - Florida Sentinel 12-5-17

Features
Quarrel Leads To
Manager To Get $110,000 Reward In Seminole Heights Case
Shooting Death
Of Tampa Man
A 22-year-old man died after being shot early Sun- day. The shooting took place in the 900 block of E. Fowler Avenue.
According to the Tampa Police Department, an ar- gument took place involv- ing two groups of people. After the argument, Jon- treeal Jerome Gainous and three others were walking westbound on E. Fowler Avenue. The indi- viduals with whom they had argued reportedly fol- lowed them as they walked down the street.
At some point, one or more of the group follow- ing fired several shots. Gainous was struck by gunfire and suffered life- threatening injuries. An- other person in the group was also shot, but his in- juries were not considered life-threatening.
After the shooting, the four were transported to a
JONTREEAL GAINOUS 3/7/1995 — 12/3/2017
local hospital in a private vehicle. Gainous died as a result of his injuries.
Detectives have not re- leased the names of the other three people who were accompanying Gain- ous at the time of the shooting.
The investigation is continuing, but no arrests have been made. Detec- tives are asking anyone with information about the shooting to call (813) 231- 6130.
HOWELL DONALDSON, III ... Charged with 4 counts of first-degree murder
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
Last Friday, Mayor Bob Buckhorn and Tampa Police Chief Brian Dugan held a news con- ference in reference to the reward money offered in the Seminole Heights mur- ders. There had been some concern that the McDon- ald’s manager who con- tacted police about the gun would not receive the money.
However, it was deter- mined that Mrs. Delonda Walker would receive the $110,000 that had been of- fered.
In a statement released at the press conference, Mrs. Walker stated, “I went to work on Tuesday intending to serve cus- tomers and do my job. The day turned out very differ- ently.
“When confronted with this situation, I wanted to do the right thing and I reached out to a nearby po- lice officer. Receiving the reward never entered my mind.
“Looking back, I am grateful to know I was helpful in assisting law en- forcement. I hope you can understand that out of re- spect for the continuing in- vestigation, as well as the victims and their families, I will not be answering ques- tions. But please know I appreciate all the well wishes and kind words from our community.”
Mrs. Walker is the General Manager at the McDonald’s in Ybor City. The gun she turned over to police has been linked to all four murders in Seminole
BENJAMIN MITCHELL ... Died October 9th
ANTHONY NAIBOA ... Died October 19th
Heights. Police arrested 24-year-old Howell Don- aldson, III, and charged him with four counts of first-degree murder.
Donaldson is cur- rently being held at the Hillsborough County jail without bond. However, he is slated to appear before Judge Margaret Taylor for a bond hearing on Tuesday at 10 a.m.
Seminole Heights was just another community in Tampa. However, an al- leged serial killer held the area and the entire city hostage for 51 days.
At 9 p.m., on October 9th, Benjamin Mitchell was shot 4 times while he was at the intersection N. 15th Street and E. Frierson Avenue. A video at a busi- ness captured the image of the hooded culprit.
Four days later, Ms. Monica Caridad Hoffa’s body was found near the corner of E. New Orleans Avenue and N. 11th Street, in a vacant lot. Po- lice believe she was killed on the night of October 11th as she was walking to meet a friend.
Officers also responded to 9-1-1 calls of shots being fire in the area near N. 11th
MONICA HOFFA ... Died October 11th
RONALD FELTON ... Died November 14th
Street and East New Or- leans Avenue, shortly be- fore 9 p.m. She had been shot 3 times.
At 7:57 p.m., on October 19th, Anthony Naiboa was shot once after he mis- takenly got off the bus and was walking in the 5100 block of N. 15th Street.
The suspect did not strike again for 26 days. At 4:50 a.m., on November 14th, shots rang out again. This time, the victim was Ronald Felton, who was killed near the intersection of E. Caracas and N. Ne- braska Avenue.
The break in the case came about when Howell Donaldson, III, report- edly walked into the Mc- Donald’s Restaurant and handed a bag to the man- ager. When the bag was opened, it contained a gun.
The manager alerted a police officer sitting in the restaurant at the time. At 5 p.m., Tampa Police Chief Brian Dugan announced that the gun matched bul- lets used in the first three murders.
“I was guarded, but op- timistic. This was the piece of evidence we needed was the gun,” Chief Dugan said.
PAGE 2 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2017