Print

Email story

Comment

Letter to the editor

Drug-deal shooting brings a life sentence

By JOSE CARDENAS
Published June 8, 2007

Until his arrest last year, Dereke James Graham was a violent drug dealer in Largo, prosecutors allege.

In the spring of 2006, Graham robbed and shot one of his clients in the stomach as the two men met in the wee hours to exchange money for crack cocaine.

A day later, authorities say, Graham stabbed another drug buyer to death and dumped her body on someone's front yard.

On Wednesday, Graham was sentenced at Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Court to life in prison for the attempted murder of the first victim, Luis Manuel Guevara.

"He was a customer, and the defendant knew that he had money and robbed him, " Assistant State Attorney Frank Piazza said. "He didn't have to shoot him. That was our point."

Graham's trial in connection with the murder of the stabbing victim, 43-year-old Polly Davis Laurenzo of Seminole, is scheduled for January.

His trial in the Guevara attack started Monday in Judge Richard Luce's courtroom.

After a three-day trial, the jury deliberated about 10 minutes before returning with a verdict, Piazza said.

They found Graham, 22, guilty of attempted felony murder and robbery. Subsequently, Graham stipulated his guilt to a charge of felonious possession of firearms.

Graham lived in the 13400 block of Adams Circle West in Largo.

According to Largo police, the evening of March 20, 2006, Guevara purchased $40 worth of crack cocaine from Graham.

Early the next morning, Guevara, 41, went to an area near Trotter Road and 20th Avenue SW to meet up with Graham and buy more drugs.

Once there, Guevara gave Graham $20 for the drugs, police said. Graham asked if Guevara had any more money.

When Guevara said he did not, Graham shot him with a double-barreled shotgun, police said.

Guevara was taken to Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg. He later told a Largo detective that he was missing $150.

Meanwhile, early the following morning Graham met up with Laurenzo, Piazza said. He ended up stabbing her three times.

The mother of three grown children was a drug user, Piazza said. Graham was a seller, and authorities think the stabbing took place during a drug deal, he said.

Graham allegedly dumped Laurenzo's body on the front yard of a home in the 1600 block of 134th Avenue in Largo. The homeowner found it in the morning.

On March 29, 2006, sheriff's deputies pulled Graham over at the intersection of Ulmerton Road and 66th Street in Largo. He was wanted by Largo detectives in connection with Guevara's shooting, so he was taken into custody.

Soon after, Graham was charged with Laurenzo's murder.

Jose Cardenas can be reached at jcardenas@sptimes.com or 727 445-4224.

[Last modified June 7, 2007, 21:39:35]