Page 39 - Florida Sentinel 3-25-22

Crime
Injured Gunshot Victim Found In Car Dies
The victim was found inside his car Monday night. The car was in a ditch in the 4900 block of E. Lake Avenue.
Gang Leader Gets 17 Years For Drug And Gun Offenses
An injured gunshot victim was found in a car in East Tampa Monday night. He was transported to a local hospital, but died as a result of his injuries.
According to the Tampa Police Department, officers responded to the 4900 block of E. Lake Avenue shortly be- fore 8 p.m. They located the vehicle in a ditch and there was an adult male inside.
He was suffering from
upper body trauma. The vic- tim was transported to an area hospital in critical con- dition.
However, the unidenti- fied man did not survive.
The investigation into the murder is underway and po- lice are asking anyone with information about the fatal shooting to contact Crime Stopper of Tampa Bay at 1- 800-873-TIPS; or online at www.crimestopperstb.com.
A 30-year-old Tampa man was sentenced on drug and gun possession charges ear- lier this week. He was found guilty of the charges against him on October 21, 2021.
Keon Moore was in- dicted on June 4, 2020, for possessing a firearm or am- munition as a convicted felon and possessing controlled substances with the intent to distribute them. District Judge Thomas P. Barber sentenced Moore to 17 years and 6 months in federal prison.
According to testimony and evidence presented dur- ing sentencing and the four- day trial, Moore is a convicted felon and a high- ranking member of Money Power Respect (MPR)—a vio- lent and rapidly growing prison and street gang that
KEON MOORE
operates throughout the greater Tampa Bay area. Prior to being apprehended and convicted in this case, Moore stored guns and drugs for use by himself and others, sold guns and drugs, and threat- ened violence to collect drug debts. In one of Moore’s pri- vate Facebook communica- tions, a person to whom Moore had provided drugs on consignment, but who
failed to pay on time, begged Moore not to kill him via drive-by shooting over the $90 he owed Moore.
The charges brought in this case revolved around a Public Storage unit rented by Moore. After a law enforce- ment drug-detecting dog alerted to Moore’s unit, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant of the unit. Inside the otherwise empty 50 square-foot unit, officers lo- cated seven guns, including two rifles; ammunition; ap- proximately 45 grams of pure methamphetamine; 34 grams of cocaine; 53 grams of Euty- lone; and 1.6 kilograms of marijuana, among other drugs; and a clothing item containing Moore’s DNA. Ballistics analysis linked one of the guns to five unsolved shootings.
Traffic Stop Leads To Three Arrested In Stolen Car
Deputies with the Her- nando County Sheriff’s Office conducted a traffic stop Mon- day, just before 6 p.m. The ve- hicle had been reported stolen and three men were arrested.
According to police, two deputies observed a 2015 Nis- san Maxima that had been re- ported stolen. The vehicle contained at least three peo- ple.
Deputies called for backup and stopped the vehicle in the area of Cortez Boulevard and Deltona Boulevard.
The deputies ordered the driver to exit the vehicle and then each passenger. The driver, identified as Andre Dillard, 19, complied and was placed in custody.
The front seat passenger was identified as Ms. Tianny Piggot. She was detained, but was not charged.
One of the back seat pas- sengers was identified as 26- year-old Kasaar Thompson. Thompson re- portedly refused to face away and stated, “This is just a traf- fic stop, I don’t have to listen to you.”
The deputies recognized Thompson as someone with numerous previous contacts
KASAAR THOMPSON
with law enforcement and is known to be hostile and violent towards law enforce- ment.
Thompson reportedly refused to obey any other law- ful orders, after exiting the ve- hicle. He responded with, “No” and “I know my rights.” K-9 Deputy Greg Locke quickly took Thompson into custody.
Michael Oravetz, 24, was the fourth person in the car. He exited and complied.
A search of Oravetz’s person revealed two Nissan key fobs, both of which be- longed to the stolen vehicle. Michael Oravetz was listed as the suspect in the stolen ve- hicle case from the Lakeland Police Department.
As deputies searched the
vehicle, they located a black backpack on the front passen- ger side floorboard. A search of the backpack revealed it contained $2,682 in cash and nine large bags of a green leafy substance, which later tested positive for the pres- ence of THC.
It also contained a digital scale and an AR-15 magazine. The magazine contained 13 rounds of PMC 223 ammuni- tion.
During the interview with Dillard, he initially denied having knowledge of illegal substances in the vehicle. He later took responsibility for the black backpack and all of the items located inside it.
Dillard told deputies the car belonged to his friend in the back seat and his friend allowed him to drive it.
When deputies attempted to interview Kasaar Thompson he began screaming obscenities and told them to “Get out of my face, before I go crazy.”
During his interview, Oravetz told deputies the car belonged to his father and he was usually permitted to use it for work, as long as he re- turned it.
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