Two found dead in car; neighbors heard shots

Residents of the house where the car stopped didn't see a shooting but said the car's back door was open.

By KEVIN GRAHAM
© St. Petersburg Times
published October 28, 2002

TAMPA -- Two men were found dead early Sunday morning in the front seat of a car, its engine running.

The 20-year-old driver and 23-year-old passenger were apparently killed on a dead-end road along N 31st Street shortly after 2 a.m., said Tampa Police spokeswoman Katie Hughes.

Hughes said no arrests have been made and police are awaiting autopsy results before releasing the men's names. Neighbors reported hearing gunshots before finding the bodies.

Police said the car had an out-of-state license plate, but Hughes would not say which state or whether the victims were thought to be local residents.

"Circumstances are at this point a complete unknown," Hughes said.

Karon Williams, who lives on N 31st Street, said the shooting along her secluded street was unsettling. She was shocked to learn the victims were white.

"No white people live in here," she said.

Robert Butler said he's lived on the street for more than 30 years.

"The police don't even come down here," he said. "If you look at the neighborhood, it looks rough, but it's a nice neighborhood."

Theodore Fulton and his girlfriend, Lakesha Pinder, both 24, live at 3710 N 31st St., where the car came to rest.

Fulton said he heard four gunshots, then looked out the window as Pinder dialed 911.

"I just saw two guys sitting inside the car, and the car was steady running," Fulton said.

While Pinder spoke with a 911 operator, Fulton went outside and noticed the Lincoln had rammed into the back of his 1985 Mercury Grand Marquis, pushing the Marquis forward and wedging it under the back bumper of Pinder's 1990 Honda Civic.

"That's when I saw that these guys here are dead," Fulton said. "The guy's foot was jammed on the gas and the back tires were digging into the asphalt."

"There was a lot of smoke everywhere," said Pinder.

Fulton and Pinder said they didn't see anyone running from the car, but the back door on the passenger side of the late-model Lincoln was open.

Fulton spent part of his Sunday morning trying to wash away the blood outside his front gate before Pinder's 6-year-old and 4-year-old daughters came outside to play.

"This is a shocker after we just came from Guavaween watching everyone have fun, and then death comes right in front of my door," he said.

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