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Authorities wonder whether a man robbed of his tax refund and then slain may be the victim of bandits behind a series of robberies Sunday.
By CHRIS TISCH
© St. Petersburg Times, published March 1, 2001
LARGO -- Pinellas County detectives are trying to determine whether men wanted in a string of Clearwater robberies are tied to Monday's tax-refund slaying of father of six.
Monday night, two masked men robbed Marco Waters, 23, and then shot him to death outside his girlfriend's duplex, 5401 Colfax St. in High Point. The robbers took $5,000 in $100 and $50 bills that Waters had stuffed in his wallet from his tax refund, according to Waters' family.
He died on the way to the hospital and is survived by six children, the oldest of whom is 4 years old.
Sheriff's detectives began working with Clearwater police Tuesday as they looked for men wanted in four robberies committed within two hours in Clearwater on Sunday morning.
Tuesday night, detectives arrested Derrick Donte Works, 23, of St. Petersburg in connection with one of those robberies. He is a "viable suspect" in the other three, said Clearwater police spokesman Wayne Shelor.
Sheriff's Detective Lt. Steve Shipman said Works has denied involvement in the Waters slaying.
Arrest records indicate Works admitted to his role as the getaway car driver in the holdup in which he is charged.
The Clearwater string of robberies began at 1:14 a.m. at Park Place and Gulf-to-Bay boulevards when three people were robbed by a man with a handgun. A second man drove a get-away car.
About 45 minutes later, a woman was robbed by an armed man in the 1600 block of Sunset Drive. A half-hour later, an armed man approached a woman leaving a restaurant in the 2500 block of Gulf-to-Bay Boulevard. The woman ran away and escaped, Shelor said.
And about a half-hour after that, an armed man robbed two people in the 2300 block of Nursery Road. The victims were going home with the proceeds from a local business after closing time, Shelor said.
The robber got $5,000 from the victims. Works later admitted he drove the get-away car after that robbery, according to an arrest report.
He got $400 for his role in the holdup, which he said he took part in because he was scared of his accomplice, the report said. Shipman said detectives know who the accomplice is and are looking for him for questioning.
A Clearwater community policing officer first saw Works on Tuesday afternoon in the area of Jasmine Courts public housing, which is in east Clearwater south of Drew Street. Works ran away.
Clearwater and Pinellas detectives tracked him down about 9 p.m. at Skylit Motel, 2431 Gulf-to-Bay Blvd.
Waters also was robbed of about $5,000 that he had in his wallet; he received the money from a tax refund, his sister said. Investigators have said the suspects may have known Waters was carrying the money.
Anyone with information about the Monday night slaying of Marco Waters is asked to call Detective Kevin Bennett at 582-6779.