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Wesley Chapel, PHCC remember former star

One of the men involved in the Monday night confrontation that ended in a fatal shooting is still at large.

WESLEY CHAPEL - Edward Brown stared at the basketball shorts in his hands.

The number 22 stared back.

That was David Clifford Simpson's number, a former Wesley Chapel High School and Pasco-Hernando Community College basketball standout who was gunned down Monday in a McDonald's parking lot in Tampa.

Brown wore the shorts for PHCC's game against St. Johns River Community College in Palatka on Tuesday.

PHCC won 70-66. But it had lost so much more.

"When (Simpson) played for us, he would show the most emotion and be the most focused on the court," Brown said. "He always put his mind in the right place no matter what was going on."

On Tuesday, Hillsborough sheriff's detectives charged Joseph Lushington Garrell, 21, of Tampa with the murder of Simpson, 20, and the attempted murder of Antonio Ramsay, 19. It was Garrell's first arrest in Florida, according to state records.

On Wednesday, those close to Simpson recalled a caring individual and talented athlete.

Former Wesley Chapel coach Kent Mills described Simpson as "the centerpiece" of his 2002 and 2003 Florida High School Athletic Association's Class 3A final four teams.

Mills, who resigned in 2003 and moved to Indiana, knew Simpson since age 11 and spoke with him almost every month.

"This is tough," Mills said Wednesday as he fought back tears. "He was a fine young man. He represented everything Wesley Chapel basketball was about."

Simpson was killed during a confrontation Monday night at the Excellence Apartments complex at 50th Street and Fletcher Avenue.

Detectives were still sorting out details but know this much: Simpson, Ramsay and two other men drove to the area in a Chevrolet Cavalier, intending to rob a group of men - including Garrell - they believed were drug dealers.

"Somehow the robbery was foiled," sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter said.

Garrell fled from Simpson's group in a Nissan Maxima driven by 23-year-old Franz Nicholas Cargill, detectives said. Simpson, Ramsay and the other unidentified men in the Cavalier went to the McDonald's on 22nd Street, Carter said.

In the parking lot, Cargill rammed the Maxima into the Cavalier, according to a sheriff's report. Garrell got out of the Maxima and started firing, Carter said.

Simpson was hit once in the chest and died at the scene. Ramsay was taken to University Community Hospital for a gunshot wound to his shoulder that was not life-threatening, Carter said.

Sheriff's detectives continued looking for Cargill on Wednesday.

"We still have a participant at large, so we don't have all the pieces of the puzzle yet," said Hillsborough sheriff's Maj. Robert Shrader. "But my gut instinct is, all of the parties here were probably involved in some kind of criminal activity or attempted criminal activity that precipitated the shooting."

Simpson has no drug-related criminal history, according to state records. In June, he was jailed in a domestic battery case involving his younger sister, but authorities dropped the charge.

Simpson's name graces record placards in Wesley Chapel's gymnasium. He holds the school's single season record for most rebounds (285 in 2002-03) and the single-game record for rebounds (19) against St. Petersburg Catholic in 2002.

"He was our go-to guy when we needed a basket," Mills said, "a tough defender and a hard-nosed basketball player."

PHCC coach Bobby Bowman began to recruit 6-foot-4 Simpson during his junior season at Wesley Chapel. He played forward at the community college from 2003 until this spring.

"David always had a smile on his face," Bowman said. "He was extremely well liked. He was always well dressed, was well groomed and fun to be around. He was an overall solid good kid that loved playing basketball and loved being around people."

Wesley Chapel will hold a moment of silence for Simpson before Friday's preseason game against Clearwater.

Brown, his former teammate, said he will wear a headband with Simpson's name during the rest of the season's games.

"We'll keep him in our minds," Brown said. "The ones who were close to him talk about it openly. We talk about things he used to do. We just stay close and keep each other close."