Slaying suspect turns self in

Tyrone Grimes is accused of firing shots into a crowd.

By CASEY CORA, Times Staff Writer
Published January 29, 2008

ADVERTISEMENT Tyrone Lamont Grimes has been arrested 14 times, including the arrest for the first-degree murder charge. Karen Williams, a 36-year-old mother of three, was killed by a stray bullet in October. [Family photo]

TAMPA - For the past three months, the fatal shooting of Karen Williams, a bystander struck by a stray bullet while on a rare weeknight outing to a nightclub, went unsolved.

But just before 3 a.m. Monday, Tyrone Lamont Grimes walked into the Orient Road Jail and turned himself in for the shooting, Hillsborough sheriff's deputies said.

Authorities had been searching for Grimes since Oct. 17, when they named him as the gunman in the shooting that claimed the life of Williams, a 36-year-old mother of three.

They said Grimes was arguing with a group of men just after 1:15 a.m. at Club Fluid, located among the suburban expanse southeast of Brandon Westfield mall at 2016 Town Center Blvd.

Then, they say, the 6-foot-2, 245-pound Grimes unloaded a silver revolver into a crowd of about 100. One of the bullets reached Williams. She died at the scene.

She left behind two children of her own and a stepson - Dillon, 8, Taelor, 15, and Glenn, 17.

Florida Department of Law Enforcement records show Grimes, also known as Nathaniel Bird Grimes and Tyrone Lamont Mills, has been arrested 14 times, including the arrest for the first-degree murder charge.

Records show he has addresses in Miami and Brandon.

He is being held without bond. Grimes did not return phone calls to the jail seeking comment.

Reached on Monday, Karen's father, Rowe Williams, said, "I'm sure Hillsborough County and the justice system will do what needs to be done."

He declined to comment further.

Tampa lawyer Joe Bodiford said he has represented Grimes before and expected he would enter a not guilty plea, but he hadn't consulted with him yet.

Casey Cora can be reached at ccora@sptimes.com or 813 226-3386.

[Last modified January 28, 2008, 22:29:24]