Page 40 - Florida Sentinel 3-12-21

Crime
Jury Acquits Man In Murder Of Transgender
Tampa Man Indicted
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
Last Friday, a 24-year-old Tampa man was acquitted of first-degree murder. How- ever, he remains in jail un- dergoing a second murder trial in a different case.
Keith Lamayne Gail- lard was 18 at the time of his arrest on July 29, 2015. He was accused of shooting Samuel “India” Elija Clarke. Clarke’s body was discovered on the property that houses the University Area Community Center, 14030 N. 22nd Street early in the morning on July 15, 2015.
The investigation into Clarke’s death began early Tuesday when an employee of the University Area Com- munity Center, 14013 N. 22nd Street, discovered what ap- peared to be the body of a woman, shortly before 9 a.m.
A Tampa native, Clarke attended the public schools of Hillsborough County. She graduated from Hillsborough High School in 2007. Her goal was to follow in her mother’s footsteps and be- come a Cosmetologist.
Murder Of Child
SAMUEL “INDIA” CLARKE 5/3/1990 — 7/21/2015
Second Murder Trial
On Monday, the second murder trial for Gaillard began. He was arrested and charged with the first-degree murder of Tyrone Sean Davis, 46, of San Antonio, Florida. His body was found on July 26th, at the Temple Crest Park, 8116 N. 37th Street. Davis was discovered nude and only had on one flip flop. Police said the cause of death was a gunshot to the back of the head.
His car, a 2001 Chevrolet Impala, was missing, but was located abandoned in the 4000 block of E. Louisiana, later that day, and im- pounded.
KEITH LAMAYNE GAILLARD ...Charged with first-degree murder
Davis was identified through his fingerprints. Po- lice also determined that in addition to his identification being missing, so was his cell phone.
According to authorities, Davis left Cody’s Roadhouse in Wesley Chapel shortly after midnight on the day he was killed. Police obtained his cell phone records and determined that Davis had received a call from Gaillard at 4:05 a.m., the morning he was killed. The call lasted only 13 seconds, police said.
A Florida Department of
Law Enforcement analyst de-
termined that a pair of Gucci
shorts belonging to Davis
contained a mixture of blood
belonging to both Davis and
Gaillard. They also have
witness statements and video
proving that Gaillard had
possession of Davis’ vehicle
throughout the day on July 26th.
Gaillard is alleged to have told one witness that he was “catching bodies” and that he had allegedly killed the person who owned the car at Temple Crest Park, po- lice said.
Witnesses told police that Gaillard was observed with the gun with duct tape on the handles. After the homicide on July 26th, Gaillard al- legedly sold the gun for $50.00.
Gaillard was originally arrested on July 29th, by the Hillsborough County Sher- iff’s Office after his photo- graph was discovered on Facebook posing with a handgun. A warrant was is- sued for him for being a con- victed felon in possession of a firearm.
Last week, the Hillsbor- ough County State Attorney’s Office indicted a Tampa man on a charge of first-degree murder. He is accused of causing the death of an 8- year-old last year.
According to the Hillsbor- ough County State Attorney’s Office, the case of 40-year- old Tyrone Covington was presented to the Grand Jury and the indictment was re- turned. Under Florida law, the crime of first-degree murder cannot be charged by the State Attorney, instead, prosecutors must present ev- idence to a Grand Jury com- posed of members of the community.
The Grand Jury then de- termines if the evidence is sufficient to indict a person.
The State based its case on the following information: “On Thursday, October 22, 2020, the child’s mother called 911 asking for help be- cause her child was strug- gling to breathe and had become unresponsive. The child was transported to Brandon Hospital and then airlifted to Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital. Doc-
TYRONE COVINGTON
tors discovered several large areas of contusions, welts, scarring, and small lacera- tions on the child’s lower back and rear area. Attempts to stabilize the child were un- successful and the eight- year-old died a day later.”
Officials said that during the interview, they learned that Tyrone Covington, the mother’s boyfriend, had allegedly abused the victim with a belt. The autopsy re- sults concluded the child’s death was caused by blunt trauma and ruled a homi- cide.
A warrant was issued for Covington’s arrest and he was taken into custody while in St. Petersburg. A trial date has not been set in the case.
For First-Degree
Girl, 5, Dies, Dad Charged With Murder
The father of a five-year- old girl is now facing first-de- gree murder after the child dies.
According to the St. Pe- tersburg Police Department, on February 22, 2021, police responded to a home in refer- ence to a five-year-old child with head injuries. The child, identified as Cynthia Green, was transported to a local hospital, where doctors determined she had severe head trauma and fresh in- juries. She also had scarring all over her body to include a bite mark. She was originally listed in stable condition fol- lowing surgery.
Her father, 32-year-old William Green, was ar- rested and charged with two
WILLIAM GREEN
counts of aggravated child abuse with great bodily harm. However, the child did not re- cover and the charges against Green have been upgraded to include first-degree mur- der. He remains in the Pinel- las County Jail. The investigation is continuing.
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