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In-law sought in man's death

Police say the man, a lottery winner in business at Channelside, was killed after an argument over money.

By SHANNON COLAVECCHIO-VAN SICKLER
Published July 28, 2005

SEFFNER - He was a $20-million lottery winner who sank some of his fortune into a gourmet popcorn shop named for his granddaughter Kassie. He was only 39 but owned a half-million-dollar home on an exclusive street in FishHawk Ranch, east of Tampa.

But it all ended Tuesday night for Jeffrey Dampier Jr.

Authorities say his sister-in-law and her boyfriend shot Dampier to death after kidnapping him and demanding money.

Hillsborough sheriff's detectives issued felony arrest warrants Wednesday for 23-year-old Victoria Jackson, sister to Dampier's wife; and Jackson's boyfriend Nathaniel, whose last name is also Jackson.

They are accused of first-degree murder with a firearm, aggravated assault with a firearm, armed carjacking and two counts of armed kidnapping.

Dampier's wife Crystal is not a suspect, sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter said.

According to authorities, Dampier drove his 2005 GMC van Tuesday evening to the Jacksons' Brandon apartment at 350 Lakewood Dr.

Leo Pilotte, 30, who lives below the Jacksons, said he heard a "heated discussion" from his upstairs neighbors before he left home at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. But he also said they were often loud.

Carter said it was about 8 p.m. when the Jacksons pulled a semi-automatic handgun on Dampier and an unidentified woman, forcing both into Dampier's van.

She said Nathaniel Jackson, 24, and Victoria Jackson took turns driving the van and demanding money from Dampier as they drove toward Seffner.

Nathaniel Jackson threatened both Dampier and the woman with the gun, investigators said. Carter said Dampier was hit in the head several times.

At some point Victoria Jackson shot Dampier, according to detectives. She and Nathaniel Jackson drove the van into a wooded area at 2320 Magnolia Ave., a dead-end street, then fled, Carter said.

Residents called 911 after hearing the van running outside, Carter said. When deputies arrived, Dampier was dead. Investigators found the kidnapped woman near the van.

"She ran from the scene," Carter said, without elaborating.

Carter would not say whether the woman is related to Dampier or to either of the Jacksons. Carter said it appears she was at the Jacksons' Brandon apartment when Dampier arrived. The woman was not seriously injured.

Asked about the attackers' motive for killing Dampier, Carter replied: "They did demand money."

Nathaniel Jackson has no criminal history in Florida, according to state records.

Hillsborough sheriff's deputies arrested Victoria Jackson in February on warrants for prior misdemeanor cases of driving with a suspended license and fraudulently obtaining food or lodging, jail records show. She was sentenced to six months of probation, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

At the time of her arrest, she listed as her address a townhouse at 5723 Heron Park Place in Lithia. Dampier bought the 1,814-square-foot townhouse in FishHawk Ranch in June 2004, according to Hillsborough property records. His parents live a few doors down, county records show.

The townhomes are less than a mile from his own 4,363-square-foot home in FishHawk Ranch. Property records show Dampier and wife bought their house in July 2001.

The purchase came five years after Dampier hit a multimillion-dollar windfall.

On June 8, 1996, Dampier won the Illinois Lotto, said Illinois Lottery spokesman Courtney Hill. Dampier claimed the $20-million jackpot with his ex-wife, Debra Jackson. It does not appear that either of Dampier's accused assailants are related to Debra Jackson.

Dampier initially opted to collect 20 annual payments of $500,000 apiece, Hill said.

In November 2000, Debra Jackson and Dampier divorced, according to court records from Cook County, Ill.

And earlier this year, Dampier sold his Lotto interest to Lottery Receivables, a company that buys out winners, Hill said.

"I guess, for whatever reason, he decided he wanted someone to buy him out," Hill said.

The move came as Dampier was opening Kassie's Gourmet Popcorn, a business that sells flavored popcorn in Tampa's Channelside entertainment complex.

Dampier opened Kassie's in January 2005 with his mother and brother, said Susan Martin, property manager and marketing director for Channelside.

According to the Kassie's Gourmet Web site, Dampier's parents started selling gourmet popcorn in Chicago in 1992. An unlikely combination of cheese and caramel quickly became a hit.

When Dampier opened the shop at Channelside, four years after relocating his family from Chicago to Hillsborough County, he dedicated it to his granddaughter. A caricature of her, done during a 2003 visit to Disney World, hangs above the cash register near memorabilia from Dampier's favorite teams and athletes: the Chicago Bears, the Cubs, Michael Jordan.

The Times tried to interview relatives Wednesday at Dampier's home and that of his parents. They declined to comment.

Martin said Dampier's sister, brother and parents knocked on the door of her office shortly after 8 a.m. Wednesday.

The family told Martin they wouldn't be opening the shop for awhile.

Before they left, they posted a white sign on the door of the darkened shop.

"Due to a family emergency Kassie's Popcorn is closed temporarily."

Staff researchers Cathy Wos and Carolyn Edds and staff writer Jeff Testerman contributed to this report. Shannon Colavecchio-Van Sickler can be reached at svansickler@sptimes.com or 813 226-3373.

Anyone with information about Nathaniel Jackson or Victoria Jackson is asked to call the Sheriff's Office at (813) 247-8200 or CrimeStoppers at 1-800-873-8477.

[Last modified July 28, 2005, 08:43:43]