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Man is shot in front of crowd but no one talks

St. Petersburg police say hundreds of people were nearby when the man was fatally shot but witnesses are "holding back information."

By ALEX LEARY
Published August 4, 2005

ST. PETERSBURG - A 29-year-old man died early Wednesday after being shot several times in front of hundreds of people, police said.

But so far, no one is talking about it.

Antonio D. Mackeroy of St. Petersburg was found in the parking lot in front of West Coast Glass, 3451 Fifth Ave. S, about 2:30 a.m. and was later pronounced dead at Bayfront Medical Center.

Several hundred people were hanging out near the glass shop and the Choice Food Store facing 34th Street, police said. Many apparently went there after the nearby Club Karma and other nightclubs closed, according to police.

But investigators were having trouble Wednesday getting potential witnesses to talk.

"There's a lot of people holding back information," homicide Sgt. Mike Puetz said. "We need them to step up and talk to us."

The shooting was the city's 19th homicide this year - and the second in a week in the neighborhood.

Last week, a 17-year-old boy was killed outside Club Karma on First Avenue S after a dispute over a parking spot. Police, who have made an arrest in the earlier shooting, do not think the two deaths are related.

Mackeroy's family and friends gathered outside a home on Fourth Street S Wednesday morning but refused to comment. His father, reached by phone, also declined to talk.

State records show that Mackeroy has a lengthy arrest record dating to 1995. He was arrested on charges of battery, aggravated domestic battery, cocaine possession and armed burglary.

Police ask anyone with information to call Detective Rusty Zitzelberg at (727) 893-4959 or the main police line at (727) 893-7780.

[Last modified August 4, 2005, 01:04:11]