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Man held in fatal Melrose Avenue shooting
By MIKE BRASSFIELD ST. PETERSBURG -- Police arrested a 25-year-old man Wednesday in a fatal shooting six weeks ago that caused an uproar in the Melrose Avenue community south of Central Avenue and touched off debate about police strategies on drugs and violence. Police say Akylie K. Davis stepped out of a red car April 8 and fired numerous rounds from an AK-47 assault rifle, killing 24-year-old Jacobie Spradley as he stood with several other men in front of 1040 Melrose Ave. S. "We estimate that over 50 rounds were fired in the direction of 1040 Melrose, but we do not believe Spradley was the intended target," said St. Petersburg police spokesman Rick Stelljes. Police officers found 58 shell casings on the street. Spradley died from a single wound to the chest. Detectives originally wondered if the shooting was drug-related -- Spradley ended a prison term on cocaine charges in 2001 -- or whether it began with an earlier argument between two families. Investigators eventually decided Spradley was just a bystander, and the gunman was targeting someone else. "Davis got into a dispute with another man over the telephone. Shortly afterward, he came driving down the street," Stelljes said. Davis is charged with second-degree murder. Shortly after the shooting, witnesses who had been on Melrose Avenue that day identified Davis as the gunman, police said. They have been after Davis ever since. "We've been looking for him for some time, but he's been out of state," Stelljes said. Then police got word that Davis had returned to St. Petersburg. They arrested him Wednesday evening at his home, 2916 12th Ave. S. Detectives would not say Wednesday whether Davis was making any statements. Police are still looking for other men who were in the red car with Davis that day. The April 8 shooting touched off a debate over the Police Department's strategy in patrolling the city. Residents have criticized the police administration for failing to patrol open air drug markets, particularly in neighborhoods south of Central Avenue. They point to an increase in homicides and a decline in drug arrests. Spradley's death came less than two weeks after gunfire rattled a street in the Childs Park community about 30 blocks west of Melrose Avenue. It's also the area where small explosives were tossed at officers in January. Two weeks after the shooting, Sheriff Everett Rice agreed to provide undercover deputies and equipment to help St. Petersburg police officers enforce drug laws in the city. Stelljes hoped Melrose Avenue residents could sleep a little easier, knowing that the accused gunman in the April 8 shooting was behind bars. "Any time anything this tragic happens in your community, it's frightening."
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