Page 39 - Florida Sentinel 3-19-21

Crime
Gang Member Pleads Guilty To Firearms Offenses
Jury Convicts Man
During Second
Murder Trial
A 25-year-old Tampa man pleaded guilty to firearms of- fenses last week. He is facing a maximum penalty of several years in federal prison.
Gabriel Antonio Thompkins, II, pleaded guilty to making a false state- ment to a federally licensed firearms dealer in connection with the attempted purchase of a firearm, and to possessing firearms and ammunition as a convicted felon. Thompkins faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison for the false statement charge and up to 10 years imprisonment for the firearms possession of- fense.
According to the plea agreement, Thompkins was a member of the Grant Park neighborhood gang. As a member of the gang, he al- legedly sold drugs, illegally possessed firearms and am- munition, fled from law en- forcement, and posted videos to social media.
On November 17, 2017, Thompkins fled the scene of a shooting in Tampa, driving away in a vehicle at a high rate of speed. He then crashed the
sives (ATF) Form and falsely claimed that he had not been convicted of a felony.
Shoot Straight Tampa con- ducted a background check and denied the purchase be- cause of Thompkins’s con- victed felon status.
On January 11, 2020, offi- cers from the Tampa Police Department attempted a traf- fic stop on a vehicle Thomp- kins was driving. Thompkins fled, first in the vehicle and then on foot. From a backpack found in the car, the officers recovered approxi- mately 170 grams of mari- juana. They also located a Kel-Tec 556 pistol.
On October 6, 2020, law enforcement executed arrest and search warrants at Thompkins’s home. They re- portedly found a loaded stolen .40 caliber handgun in the bedroom. They also recovered a loaded, stolen Mini Draco 7.62x39 mm firearm in a shed. Thompkins has been con- victed of a felony in the past and not allowed to have guns or ammunition.
A sentencing date has not been set for Thompkins.
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
On Monday, March 8th, the murder trial for a 24-year-old Tampa man charged with first-degree murder was held. On Thursday, the jury found him guilty of the charge.
Keith Lamayne Gail- lard was 18 at the time of his arrest on July 29, 2015. He was accused of shooting 46- year-old Tyrone Sean Davis, whose body was found nude in the Temple Crest Park, 8116 N. 37th Street, on July 26, 2015. He had been shot in the back of the head. His body was discovered shortly before 7 a.m.
Davis’ car, a 2001 Chevro- let Impala, was missing, but was located abandoned in the 4000 block of E. Louisiana, later that day, and im- pounded.
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 deter- mined that Davis had re- ceived 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 wit-
ness statements and video
proving that Gaillard had
possession of Davis’ vehicle
throughout the day on July 26th.
Gaillard was arrested and charged with the first-degree murder of Davis, who was a resident of San Antonio, Florida.
KEITH LAMAYNE GAILLARD ...Convicted of
first-degree murder
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, police said.
Witnesses told police that Gaillard was observed with the gun with duct tape on the handles. After the homicide on July 26th, Gaillard allegedly sold the gun for $50.00. The bullet that killed the victim was consistent with a .22 cal- iber projectile.
Gaillard was originally arrested on July 29th, by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office after his photograph was discovered on Facebook posing with a handgun.
The jury convicted Gail- lard after 4-1/2 hours of de- liberation. He now faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
This was the second mur- der trial that Gaillard had gone through within two weeks. On March 1st, he went on trial for the murder of Samuel “India” Clarke, whose body was found in North Tampa. She had also been shot once in the head. The jury in that trial acquitted him of the murder charge.
A sentencing date for Gaillard has been set for March 26th.
GABRIEL THOMPKINS, II
vehicle into a pole and fled on foot as Tampa Police officers pursued him. The officers found Thompkins hiding under a house.
On December 18, 2017, Thompkins pleaded guilty to the felony charge of fleeing to elude (high speed) in the Thir- teenth Judicial Circuit Court in Hillsborough County.
On December 8, 2019, Thompkins went to Shoot Straight Tampa, a shooting range/gun store, and at- tempted to purchase a .45 cal- iber pistol. Thompkins filled out Bureau of Alcohol, To- bacco, Firearms and Explo-
Woman Who Sprayed Workers During Shoplifting Jailed
A 31-year-old Tampa woman was arrested Sunday in Polk County. She is accused of spraying store employees after being caught shoplifting.
According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, last Sunday, Ms. Nikita Lind- sey, was at the Burlington Store in the Posner Park Shop- ping Center near Davenport just before the store closed.
According to the arrest af- fidavit, when an employee of- fered to assist her, Ms. Lindsey is alleged to have warned her that she would slap the glasses off of her face if the employee didn’t move.
Ms. Lindsey reportedly tried to push a shopping cart full of merchandise out of the store, but the wheels locked. At that point, she is alleged to have intentionally sprayed two employees with a chemical spray.
Three other employees went outside, thinking Ms.
NIKITA LINDSEY
Lindsey was leaving. How- ever, she turned the vehicle around and accelerated di- rectly toward the women.
A deputy blocked Ms. Lindsey’s path as she at- tempted to leave and at- tempted to make a traffic stop. But Ms. Lindsey is said to have accelerated and sped off through heavy traffic with the headlights off on the mini-van. She also failed to stop at a traf- fic light, but the deputy did not pursue her because of the traf-
fic.
The vehicle was located
abandoned with a flat tire nearby. Deputies located her as she was about to get into an Uber.
Ms. Lindsey was charged with 3 counts of aggravated as- sault with a deadly weapon; 1 count of robbery with a weapon; 2 counts of fleeing to elude; 3 counts of possession of Alprazolam; and driving while license suspended. She was also issued citations for running a traffic light; operat- ing a motor vehicle in the wrong direction; and operat- ing a vehicle at night without headlights activated.
She is being held without bond at the Polk County Sher- iff’s Office.
Police said the van was filled with stolen merchandise stolen from Burlington, TJ Maxx, and Ross among others. It was estimated at a value of $7,000.
PAGE 22-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2021