Slain 2 were on marijuana hunt

TAMPA -- The two men found shot to death in the front seat of a car early Sunday had ventured into the night in search of marijuana, investigators said Monday.

Nicholas Eshoo, 22, and Anthony DeJesus, 23, were found dead in their 2000 Lincoln, the engine still running, shortly after 2 a.m. on a dead-end road near the 3700 block of N 31st Street. Each had gunshot wounds in his upper body.

Both were from Connecticut and had come to visit an acquaintance in Largo, police said.

Police said Monday they had no information about possible suspects. Tampa police spokesman Joe Durkin said the pair were last seen about 1 a.m. in Largo, where "they had told a friend they were going out in search of marijuana for personal use."

Durkin declined to identify the person the men were visiting, but he did say the two had visited Florida before.

Theodore Fulton and his girlfriend, Lakesha Pinder, both 24, live where the car came to rest. They called police to report the shooting.

While Pinder talked with a 911 operator, Fulton went outside and noticed that the Lincoln had rammed the back of his car.

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

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

Several neighbors reported hearing gunshots before the two men were found dead.

-- Times researcher John Martin contributed to this report.

To help

Police are asking anyone with information about the case to call homicide detective Bob Holland at (813) 276-3560 or CrimeStoppers toll-free at 1-800-873-8477.

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