Page 40 - Florida Sentinel 6-18-21

Crime
Man Dies Of Gunshot In Busy Intersection
Anderson Road and W. Waters Avenue is the location where a man’s body was found late Thursday.
Man Charged
Man Takes Plea Deal For Five Years In Prison
With Murder Of
Girlfriend’s Father
On February 19, 2019, a then 17-year-old was arrested and charged with murder. He had allegedly shot a man dur- ing a quarrel over a bicycle.
The victim, Earl Lester Sykes, III, 23, said the bicy- cle belonged to him and that it had been stolen. As the quar- rel progressed, Barron Mar- ion is said to have pulled a handgun and fired 3 shots.
When police arrived at the location where the shooting took place in Plant City, Sykes had been struck by gunfire. He was transported to a local hos- pital, where he died of his in- juries.
Marion was taken into custody, where he has re- mained for the past 3 years. Last Friday, Marion accepted
A 31-year-
old Polk
County man
has been ar-
rested and
charged with
murder. The
murder took
place in the ALEJANDRO area of Trans-
port Road and
Spruce Road,
in unincorporated Bartow.
According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to the loca- tion shortly before 6 a.m., last Friday. When they arrived, they discovered that a man had been shot.
The victim, an adult white man, whose name is not being released, was found dead inside of a residence.
Deputies made contact with two witnesses at the residence and gathered information about the suspect. Police were able to quickly locate the sus- pect in a car that was leaving the area, and the vehi- cle was stopped.
The suspect has been iden- tified as 31-year-old Raul De Alejandro Rodriguez, Jr., of Bartow.
Based on evidence and wit- ness statements, Rodriguez was involved in an argument with the victim about the sus- pect dating the victim’s daugh- ter. Rodriguez allegedly then shot the victim with a shotgun and fled the area with the weapon.
When deputies detained Rodriguez, he was in posses- sion of a single shotgun shell in his pocket and another in a bag.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said, “The re- sponding deputies arrived so quickly that they were able to set-up a tight perimeter and the Aviation Unit easily spotted the suspect trying to get away; he was detained very quickly. The investigation is on- going, and Homicide Detectives and Crime Scene Investigators are working hard to gather evi- dence and statements.”
Rodriguez was charged with first-degree murder; ag- gravated assault with a deadly weapon; armed burglary with a firearm; tampering with a wit- ness; possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; and posses- sion of ammunition by a con- victed felon.
Deputies were dispatched to a busy intersection in ref- erence to a shooting last Thursday. When they ar- rived, they discovered a man had been fatally wounded.
According to the Hillsbor- ough County Sheriff’s Office, the shooting took place around 8:30 p.m., at the in- tersection of Waters Avenue and Anderson Road. The adult man was lying in the westbound lanes of Waters Avenue next to his vehicle. The person who allegedly fired the fatal shot remained at the scene.
Detectives learned that at some point, the victim exited
his vehicle at the traffic light. For unknown reasons, the other man fired his weapon. The victim, who has not been identified, died at the scene.
Hillsborough County
Sheriff Chad Chronister
said, “Detectives are ques- tioning the shooter, who is cooperating.
“Based on preliminary in- vestigative details, the two men did not appear to know each other. We urge anyone who witnessed the incident, to please come forward.”
Anyone with information is urged to contact the Hills- borough County Sheriff’s Of- fice at (813) 247-8200.
Body Of Missing Woman Found In Woods
Rest stop next to the Sushine Skyway Bridge.
RAUL DE
RODRIGUEZ, JR.
BARRON MARION
a plea agreement to serve 5 years in prison.
Initially, Marion claimed self-defense under the stand- your-ground statute. But his motion was denied. Marion has also agreed to serve 10 years on probation. He is scheduled to be officially sen- tenced in July 2021.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a homicide connected to a missing person case in Hills- borough County.
The investigation began last Wednesday around 7 p.m., when deputies were dis- patched to the Beach Walk Condominiums, 4349 Bayside Village Drive in Town N’ Country, in reference to a missing person.
Detectives were told that their family member, who works as a security guard at the apartment com- plex, had not returned home by her usual time. Upon ar- rival, deputies discovered the victim’s car in the parking lot.
As deputies were gather- ing information in Hillsbor- ough County about the unidentified missing woman, the St. Petersburg Fire Rescue was responding to a fire in a wooded area near a rest stop,
next to the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.
A body was discovered, and based on the preliminary investigation led detectives to believe they have identified the missing woman from Hillsborough County.
The Pinellas County Sher- iff’s Office turned the investi- gation over to Hillsborough County.
Hillsborough County
Sheriff Chad Chronister
said, “Our detectives have identified a person of interest and are working to piece to- gether this heinous crime.
“We are urging anyone who may have seen something suspicious, to please come forward. The more details we have, the faster we can make an arrest.”
Anyone with information is urged to call the Hillsbor- ough County Sheriff’s Office at (813) 247-8200.
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