According to an online news report posted on tallahassee.com, Tallahassee police announced that they arrested one of the suspects involved in the fatal shooting of an Army veteran in Tallahassee, Florida. Law enforcement officers believe they are close to arresting another suspect in the murder case. Eleven months ago, the victim's body was discovered in the woods along Pecan Road.
The 51-year-old woman was arrested this past Tuesday and was charged with being an "accessory after the fact in a first-degree murder." The Tallahassee Police Department announced on Wednesday that the suspect was arrested and booked into the Leon County Detention Facility. The suspect is being held on a $25,000 bail bond. The woman is the first suspect to be apprehended by law enforcement in the fatal shooting of the 34-year-old victim. The Tallahassee police stated that they expect more arrests are coming in a news release.
The victim was a U.S. Army veteran who moved to Tallahassee from Virginia several years ago. The victim struggled with addiction and post-traumatic stress after serving in Iraq. The victim was living at the suspect's Mission Road apartment.
The Tallahassee Police Department provided the following statement, "The investigation is still ongoing as TPD works to bring justice for the victim in this case, the TPD's Violent Crimes Unit anticipates additional arrests as the investigation progresses."
According to the Tallahassee Police Department arrest records and other reports concerning the suspect and the victim, the suspect attempted to evict the victim. However, law enforcement officers ascertained that the victim had residency rights, and the suspect would have to go through the legal system to try to evict the victim. The suspect was furious, according to the report.
The apartment's parking lot's security camera video showed a dark-colored car arriving at the apartment at approximately 11:35 p.m., shortly after the Tallahassee Police left the apartment complex. A man exited the passenger side of the vehicle and then walked to the suspect's building. Minutes later, the man returned to the car with the victim trailing behind.
The victim and the man on the video got in the car and left the apartment complex heading on Mission Road. About one hour later, the vehicle returned. The suspect is seen on video walking up to the car, opening the rear door, and then looking inside the car. Then the suspect, the passenger, and another man went to the suspect's apartment. After that moment, the victim was never seen or heard from again.
The Tallahassee Police interrogated the suspect back on January 15th and January 16th. After the Tallahassee Police confronted the suspect with the video evidence, the suspect confessed to her involvement.
The report states that the suspect called one of her friends to obtain the phone number of her friend's boyfriend, a man who was a convicted felon and who was very "intimidating." Her friend's boyfriend has a criminal history that includes violent crimes including, armed robbery and murder.
The suspect stated that the man agreed to come to her apartment "to remove Dees from the apartment." The video captures the three suspects gathered up the victim's personal belongings and removing the items from the suspect's apartment.
The suspect admitted to throwing the victim's property in a dumpster on January 10th as the victim was on her way to drive out of town. The suspect lit the victim's property on fire. The arrest report states that the suspect denies knowing how the suspect died. The suspect stated that she did not understand what transpired with the victim, but that she was aware that "something bad" happened.