Page 19 - Florida Sentinel 9-19-17

Crime
Man Charged With Manslaughter After Coming To Woman’s Aid
One Man Dead, One
A 27-year-old man was ar- rested after he admitted shoot- ing another man running away from him. The fatal shooting took place at a Lutz apartment complex last Thursday.
Shortly after 5 p.m., deputies with the Hillsbor- ough County Sheriff’s Office responded to the Turtle Creek Apartments, 1901 Oak Creek Circle, in reference to an in- jured man lying in the street. When deputies arrived, they discovered 44-year-old Joshua McCray bleeding from the head and chest. Mc- Cray was pronounced dead at 5:37 p.m.
During the investigation, deputies encountered 27-year- old Joshua Curry in the same complex. Deputies said when they approach Curry he spontaneously stated, “I shot him.” There were also two wit- nesses to the shooting.
One of the witnesses, only identified as a female, also spontaneously stated, “I shot him,” when contacted by deputies. The woman com- plained of having anxiety and was transported to Florida Hospital for medical attention. The other witness remained at the scene.
During their investigation, police learned that prior to the shooting, Curry stated that the woman had come to his apartment and asked to bor- row his gun for her own pro- tection. Curry reportedly gave the witness his .380 caliber hi- point handgun.
Curry told investigators that the witness had been in- jured in the past by McCray.
After Drive-By
JOSHUA McCRAY 5/21/1973 —- 9/14/2017
A short time later, Curry said he called the woman and could hear a struggle taking place over an open line. He re- sponded to the apartment and forced entry in order to help the woman.
Curry said when he ar- rived, the woman was strug- gling with McCray. McCray was allegedly choking the woman and attempting to hit her with a blue gun case. Curry said he recognized the gun case as the one he had given the woman earlier.
At some point, all three of them began fighting. Curry (who, according to jail records, stands 5’11” and weighs 148 pounds), told police he began hitting McCray with an ex- pandable baton because he was much larger than both of them.
According to Hillsborough County jail records, McCray stood 5’11” and weighed 250 pounds when he was arrested on April 26, 2017.
Curry said the fight be- tween the three of them con- tinued and spilled out on to
JOSHUA CURRY
... Facing manslaughter charges
the breezeway in front of the apartment. At some point, the gun case ended up on the ground and Curry said he re- trieved it, and loaded it with a magazine.
At that point, McCray turned and ran away and Curry allegedly chased him. Curry told police he raised the gun to chest level while pursuing McCray and fired one shot in his direction. The bullet struck McCray in the back.
Curry told police he was trying to scare McCray in hopes that he would not re- turn and hurt the woman again. Curry admitted that McCray did not have any known weapons and was run- ning away at the time he was shot.
Curry was taken into cus- tody and charged with manslaughter with a weapon after the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner ruled the death as a homicide. His bond was set at $15,000.
The investigation into the death is continuing.
Detectives are currently investigating a drive-by shooting that has left one man dead and another in se- rious condition. The shooting took place early Sunday, near the intersection of N. Arme- nia Avenue and Alva Street.
According to the Tampa Police Department, officers responded to the location in reference to shots being fired shortly after 3 a.m. When of- ficers arrived at the scene, they discovered that O’Shay Lindsey Vondel Lewis, 23, of Tampa, and 24-year- old David Williams, Jr. Both men were inside a 2006 Nissan Altima.
Lewis was pronounced dead at the scene and Williams was transported to a local hospital, where he was admitted in serious con- dition. Both men had been struck by gunfire, police said.
The investigation re- vealed that the men were traveling south on Armenia Avenue, shortly before 3 a.m. Lewis was driving the vehi- cle when unidentified sus- pects drove up beside the Nissan and fired several shots into the driver’s side.
Police are actively at- tempting to identify the sus-
O’SHAY LINDSEY VONDEL LEWIS 11/02/1993 —- 9/18/2017
pects in the shooting and try- ing to determine what took place that resulted in the shooting.
Detectives are asking any- one in the community with information about the shoot- ing to contact Crime Stop- pers at 1-800-873-TIPS or www.crimestopperstb.com.
Anyone providing infor- mation to Crime Stoppers may be eligible for a reward of up to $3,000.
In Serious Condition
Shooting
Man Charged In Fatal Shooting Of His Neighbor
A 57-year-old man is fac- ing charges in connection with the fatal shooting of his neigh- bor. The incident took place Saturday night.
According to the Tampa Police Department, officers responded to 5900 block of Bowen Daniel Drive, in the Yacht Club subdivision around 10:15 p.m. When offi- cers arrived, they discovered a man lying in the street. He was pr0nounced dead at the scene.
Police identified the victim as 57-year-old Matthew J. Downey. Downey suffered several gunshot wounds.
During the course of the investigation, police inter-
shooting. However, the two men were neighbors. Both men lived on the street where the shooting took place.
After conducting their in- terview with Baker, he was taken into custody and trans- ported to the Hillsborough County Jail, where he was charged with second-degree murder.
UNCLE SANDY
We can easily forgive 12, 14, 20, 25 a child who is afraid of the dark; 23, 30, 34, 41 the real tragedy of life is 5, 15, 45, 51 when men are afraid of the light. 1, 19, 50, 54.
BRIAN BAKER
viewed 57-year-old Brian Baker, who remained at the scene, and determined that he had allegedly fired the fatal shots. Police said they had not determined a motive for the
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