Page 54 - Florida Sentinel 5-6-22

Crime
Seffner Man Charged With Murder In Fatal Shooting
Man Gets 40 Years For Murder Of Missing Pregnant Teenager
JACOBEE FLOWERS AND MORGAN MARTIN
A 63-year-old man was taken into custody Friday and charged with murder. He is accused of fatally shooting a woman during a verbal alter- cation.
According to the Hillsbor- ough County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were dispatched to the 6000 block of Black Dairy Road in reference to 9-1-1 calls reporting shots being fired. When they arrived at the scene, an elderly woman was found suffering from ap- parent gunshot wounds. She was transported to Advent Hospital, where she was pro- nounced dead.
During their investigation detectives learned that an al-
RICKEY BATTEN
tercation between two people who are known to each other took place outside.
Police said two people in- side a vehicle when deputies arrived stated that they were
approached by 63-year-old Rickey Batten. Batten is alleged to have opened fire on the van, striking the unidenti- fied woman who was seated in the passenger seat of the vehicle. After the 3:44 p. m., shooting, Batten reportedly fled the scene in a vehicle.
He was located near the intersection of N. 56th Street and E. Fowler Avenue and ar- rested without further inci- dent.
Batten was charged with first-degree murder, at- tempted first-degree murder, and tampering with evidence. He is being held at the Hills- borough County Jail without bond.
Earlier this month, a 34- year-old St. Petersburg man was sentenced to 40 years in prison. He pleaded guilty to killing his pregnant 17-year- old girlfriend 10 years ago.
Jacobee Flowers
would have received 25 years in prison if police had found the teenager’s body in the field in Alabama, where he told them she was buried.
However, after police were unable to locate the body of Morgan Martin, Flowers was given a 40- year sentence.
Flowers pleaded guilty to second-degree murder after a grand jury indicted him for the murder of the teenager. Last month, Flow- ers appeared before a judge for his sentencing.
During the hearing Flowers stated, “I want you alltoknowthatIama
human being. I’m not a mon- ster, despite what you may think,” he said. “There’s not a day that goes by, in the last 10 years, that I haven’t felt the deepest level of regret.”
According to police, Ja- cobee Flowers, who was dating Morgan Martin in 2012, was a person of inter- est from the moment the teenager disappeared.
The last time her family saw her was July 25, 2012. She told her family she was going to meet Flowers. She was four months pregnant at the time, and said Flowers was the father of the baby girl she was carrying. Her mother reported her missing the next day.
When contacted by po- lice, Flowers denied any re- lationship with the teenager. He also denied he was the fa- ther of the baby.
Gunman Jailed After Shootout At Bar
A 31-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a shooting that left one person dead and two others injured. The shooting took place Sunday afternoon in Haines City.
According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, an ar- gument at the Shady Cove Bar & Grill near Haines City on Sunday afternoon. The argu- ment escalated and gunshots were exchanged. One person was killed and two injured, including the suspect in the shooting. The injured gun- man fled the scene, but was captured a short time later.
He has been identified as Joshua Badillo, of Haines City.
Badillo is being charged with 1st degree murder, at- tempted 1st degree murder, and tampering with evidence.
A 54-year old Plant City man was transported to an area hospital with a gunshot wound to his chest. He died as a result of his injuries.
A 32-year old man from Lakeland was also taken to a
JOSHUA BADILLO
... Charged with murder
local hospital with gunshot wounds to his hand and groin. He was listed in stable condition.
Deputies responded to the scene at about 5:12 p. m., in response to someone being shot in the parking lot.
According to witnesses, Badillo, who was a frequent visitor at Shady Cove, got into a verbal disturbance with members of a motorcycle group. The disturbance calmed down and the group went to an outside bar area, and then Badillo went out
and began harassing them some more, and was asked to leave.
As Badillo was walking across the parking lot toward his truck and words were still being exchanged, Badillo al- legedly turned back toward the group, pushed past sev- eral people and shot the 32- year old victim.
The 54-year old victim im- mediately ran outside from the bar and shot at Badillo, who retreated to his vehicle. The two men continued shooting at each other as Badillo drove away.
After Badillo was ar- rested, he was taken to a local hospital for his injuries, and currently remains hospital- ized in stable condition.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said, “From everything we’re seeing, the suspect instigated everything, pestering the group repeat- edly. He shot one man, then got into a gunfight with an- other...all, basically over nothing. It’s absolutely sense- less.”
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