TAMPA, Fla. – Two teens have been charged in relation to a shooting that left a 19-year-old dead, police say.
On October 19, 2022, at 11:28 pm, Tampa Police officers responded to a ShotSpotter notification that gunshots were detected in the 3700 block of E. Wilder Ave.
Three minutes later, a related call was received by Tampa Police Communications reporting a person was shot and seeking help in the 4900 block of N. 37th St. Officers located the victim, a 19-year-old black male, suffering from gunshot wounds. The victim was transported to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
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Officers located the scene of the shooting in the 3700 block of E. Wilder, a short distance from where the victim was found. They recovered a Glock handgun, ammunition magazine, and spent shell casings in the roadway. Another group of spent 9mm shell casings was located in a nearby yard.
Witness statements and evidence led detectives to identify 18-year-old Disco Leon Short, Jr. and 19-year-old Tyquan Odom as suspects in the case. The investigation determined that Odom and Short arranged to meet with the victim at the location with an escape route to Odom’s house, which they had used in the past for the same purpose.
Short was armed with a gun and had positioned himself in a place of cover with an obvious intent to use force to facilitate the robbery. Odom stole the victim’s property and fled. Short then shot the victim while Odom fled with the victim’s property. Both Odom and Short then fled to Odom’s house.
Short and Odom were both charged with Robbery with a Firearm and First-Degree Murder in relation to the October 2022 homicide.
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During the investigation, detectives determined this incident was similar in nature to a robbery that had occurred on September 28, 2022, also in the 1200 Block of Holmes Avenue. In that case, there was a reported exchange of gunfire after a failed narcotics transaction. Detectives compared evidence collected in the September 28 robbery with evidence from the October homicide investigation, which linked Short to both cases.
In this case, Short was charged with Robbery with a Firearm and Shooting At or Into a Vehicle.
Both Short and Odom are currently being held at Orient Road Jail.
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