Shopkeeper: Customer confronted suspect

By JOE HUMPHREY

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 8, 2000

TAMPA -- Police say Derek T. Holmes wanted money when he gunned down a convenience store owner Monday in Ybor City.

Within an hour of the killing, though, the 18-year-old wanted a snack.

Less than a mile from the scene of the fatal shooting, Alex Suleiman was working at his Flamingo Foods store when Holmes, a frequent customer, walked in.

"He was normal; he wasn't nervous or strung up," Suleiman said.

Holmes purchased a soda and some chips from the store at E 15th Avenue and E 10th Street, three-tenths of a mile from the Columbus Food Mart where Muhammad Naeem Akhtar was shot in the temple.

Witnesses had told police it was Holmes who shot Akhtar, and the news had already spread when Holmes stopped at Flamingo Foods. Suleiman said a customer recognized Holmes and confronted him. Holmes denied shooting Akhtar.

"He said, "Man, you're crazy, I don't know what you're talking about,' " Suleiman said.

Holmes went across the street to 914 E 15th Ave., a home his mother rented, and began working on a car with friends. Police said his mother had been evicted that morning for not paying rent, which was about $600 a month.

The home's property manager, Affordable Homes of Tampa, said Nettie Holmes moved into the house about two months ago because her former home is in the path of an Interstate 4 expansion project.

Holmes and his friends left before police arrived.

His disappearance led to a three-day search for Holmes, who shaved his head and sought refuge at several houses. Officers caught up with him Thursday evening, however, hiding in a closet at 1009 E 15th Ave., a block from the house his mother rented.

A woman who answered the door at 1009 E 15th Ave. declined to comment Friday. Police spokesman Joe Durkin said the residents face no criminal charges because they cooperated with police.

Holmes has been charged with first-degree murder and armed robbery. A few blocks away, the Columbus Food Mart where Akhtar was killed reopened Friday. The owner's brother, Mohammad Saeed, said the family must persevere.

"You cannot calculate how long you're going to be living," he said.

- Joe Humphrey can be reached at 226-3403 or humphrey@sptimes.com.

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