Hillsborough deputies arrest man in connection with three murders
A 19-year-old man police say is responsible for a string of shootings and three murders was arrested Monday morning, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
Jerome James Knight faces three counts of first degree murder with a firearm, robbery with a firearm, shooting into a vehicle and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, the Sheriff’s Offices said. Knight was arrested after being detained in Michigan.
His crimes spanned from December to January, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Deputies believe the three murders Knight is linked to happened during possible drug deals.
On Dec. 22, deputies responded to Progress Village Recreational Center, located at 8701 Progress Blvd., where they found a man with upper body trauma dead in a car. On Jan. 21, deputies found two people dead outside of a business on Pelican Creek Circle in Riverview.
On Jan. 19, deputies said Knight argued with someone inside a Circle K, located at 1606 Balm Riverview Rd., and the fight escalated outside of the store. Knight took a gun from his car and shot into the other person’s car, which had two children in it at the time, deputies said. Nobody was injured, and investigators believe the shooting to have been random, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies issued an arrest warrant for Knight, who was arrested by Romulus Police in Romulus, Michigan, in early February. He is being held without bond at the Hillsborough County jail.
“Despite Jerome Knight’s attempts to flee rather than face the consequences for his violent crimes, our detectives were able to find him and bring him to justice with the help of additional law enforcement agencies,” Sheriff Chad Chronister said in a prepared statement. “As his actions have shown, this is a very violent individual.”
