Murder

I was first made aware of this from an email alert that Channel 10 noted this occurred in Seminole Heights, but there was not much detail and no address given. According to a Bay News 9 link posted by Devon in the comments section about the Starbucks defacing this did not occur in Seminole Heights, as it was at 30th and Powhattan.

A car slammed into a house and the driver was found dead of upper body trauma to related to the crash. The Times noted that "Witnesses told police that after the crash, a man climbed out of the passenger's side of the vehicle and, limping, left the scene. He was described as a black male, 19 to 20 years old, who was last seen wearing a white tank top and light-colored shorts. He may have suffered an injury to his left leg." Police are looking for that person as a witness to the homicide. The Tribune noted that "People in the Live Oaks area said they heard gunshots shortly before the crash. Police spokeswoman Laura McElroy would not say how Dobbins died. She said he suffered "blunt trauma" and was "the victim of an obvious homicide.""

So what is this? A carjacking? A drug or prostitution deal gone bad? A case of mistaken identify murder? Someone in the wrong place at the wrong time? Something else?

This is similar to the murder a couple weeks ago where someone ended up dead on Hillsborough Avenue, maybe around Hilsborough and 30th Street only in that the person was shot and was driving. I hink as I am only relying on memory and not a news story link

Tampa Police are also looking for a murder suspect in a carjacking around April 12.

"Tampa, FL April 12, 2006 - VICTIM: Mathew Robert Mills III B/M DOB: 4/13/85 2511 Seaford Circle Apt 4, Tampa SUSPECT DESCRIPTION: B/M, 18-19 years old, 5’7-5’8, 155 pounds, baby face, 1 inch dreadlocks. BICYCLE DESCRIPTION: blue, grey, white mountain bike The victim and a friend were talking about “meeting some girls” when the suspect walked up to them at 27th Street and 19th Avenue and said he knew where they could find some women. The suspect put his bicycle into the bed of their pick-up truck and got into the back seat of the 2003 Chevrolet truck. At the corner of 38th Street and 10th Avenue, the suspect announced, “This is a jack” and then shot the passenger, Mathew Mills in the back of the head. The driver wrestled with the suspect over the gun until he managed to jump out of the truck and flee. The suspect left the victim’s body at the intersection then drove the pick-up truck to an alley off the 3600 block of Martin Luther King Avenue and set the truck on fire. This morning Tampa Police detectives are looking for help from the public . Anyone with information about the murder or the suspect is asked to call (813) 231-6130."