Page 2 - Florida Sentinel 4-24-18

Features
Riverview Man Arrested For The Murder Of High School Athlete
GROVER WILLS
Detectives with the Hills- borough County Sheriff’s Of- fice arrested the shooter for the death of a high school football player, after he turned himself in.
The Sheriff’s office reports the murder happened after a drug transaction.
On Friday, Samuel Mor- rissey, Jr., 20, was arrested and charged with the murder of Grover Wills, 18.
On Sunday, April 15, shortly before 8 p.m., Wills was driven to the Mobile Gas Station, 612 W. Lumsden Road in Brandon, by an asso- ciate. Wills reportedly got out of the car and met Mor- rissey, of Riverview.
Police said the two had arranged to meet using a so- cial media platform. Wills is alleged to have paid for the marijuana using counterfeit money wrapped in real U. S. currency. When Morrissey became aware of the counter- feit bill, he attempted to take the marijuana back. An al- leged struggle ensued, and Morrissey shot Wills one time with a .38 caliber hand-
SAMUEL MORRISSEY, JR.
gun, police said.
After being shot, Wills
ran back to the vehicle and the unidentified person who had driven Wills to the loca- tion drove him to a local hos- pital. Wills died as a result of his injuries.
Morrissey fled the scene, but later went to the Hillsbor- ough County Sheriff’s Office accompanied by his attorney.
During the investigation, Morrissey admitted he was meeting Wills for a “transac- tion” in the parking lot of the gas station. He also admitted that he shot Wills, police said.
According to the Hillsbor- ough County jail website, Morrissey was charged with second-degree murder with a firearm, possession of cannabis, and openly carrying a weapon. He is being held without bond.
Wills was a senior at Du- rant High School and a mem- ber of the school’s football team. He was slated to gradu- ate in May and reportedly had scholarship offers at the time of his death.
Man Sentenced To Life In Death Of Teenager
Last Friday, a Hillsbor- ough County Judge sen- tenced a man to life in prison for the murder of a Tampa teenager. The teenager’s body was found in the street on September 6, 2015.
At the time of his death, Eion Gustitis was a senior at Freedom High School. He had just celebrated his 18th birthday in August. His body was found in the 9700 block of Commerce Street in New Tampa.
His identity was not im- mediately known because his wallet was missing and he had no identification on him.
David Brunson, had been arrested on other charges in December 2015. On March 1, 2016, he was charged with Gustitus’ death (first degree) and armed robbery.
Brunson was convicted of the murder in February.
Witnesses testified that Gustitis was murdered be- cause Brunson thought he had stolen his cell phone and marijuana while attending a house party a few days before the murder.
Police said Kyra Cuadrado picked up Gusti- tis from his home the day of the murder. Brunson and Ezekiel Marc were also in the car. When they arrived at the scene of the murder, Brunson and Gustitis left the car. Witnesses testified that they heard a gunshot be- fore Brunson returned to the car a short time later alone. He reportedly was car-
EION GUSTITIS 8/13/1997 —- 9/6/2015
KYRA CUADRADO
... Charged with accessory after the fact
rying Gustitis’ wallet and shorts.
Police also arrested and charged Cuadrado, then 16, and Marc with accessory after the fact. She was sen- tenced to house arrest and probation.
Marc was sentenced to serve 1 year, 9 months in state prison. He was released April 6, 2017.
Brunson was 17 at the time of the murder and his age was taken into consider-
DAVID BRUNSON
... Sentenced to life in prison
EZEKIEL MARC
... Charged with accessory after the fact
ation at the time of his sen- tencing.
FYI
CRA Advisory Committee Seeks Volunteers
The Community Redevel- opment Area (CRA) Advisory Committing is currently ac- cepting applications for membership. Those wishing to serve will be assigned to the East Tampa Community Redevelopment Areas.
The applications must be received by 5 p.m., on May 18, 2018.
In the East Tampa CRA, Community Advisory Com- mittee (CAC), members gen- erally attend the CAC monthly meeting on the first Tuesday of each month. They also attend the East Tampa Community Revitalization Partnership monthly meet- ing on the second Tuesday of each month. The meetings last between 1 and 2 hours each.
Anyone with any ques- tions about the organizations and the role of the Advisory Committees, contact the East Tampa Development Office at (813) 242-3807.
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