Murders in Leon County saw uptick in 2022, but police cracked the case in 86% of them
Murders increased in 2022 but remained well below the record set just two years before.
There were 21 murders last year — 16 were investigated by the Tallahassee Police Department and four were worked by the Leon County Sheriff's Office. That’s a 17% increase over last year, when the capital city and county had 18 murders. In 2020, there were 28 murders, the highest ever recorded in Leon County.
"We usually average somewhere between 16 to 24 or 25 murders a year, and that's going back to when I was police chief of the city of Tallahassee," Leon County Sheriff Walt McNeil told the Democrat last week.
Of the 21 murder investigations last year, only three have not yielded an arrest, showing a high clearance rate.
"Our clearance rate for homicides is currently 86% and in 2021 it was 81%," TPD Chief Lawrence Revell said in a emailed statement to questions from the Democrat after a request for a phone interview. "Our detectives are some of the best in the world and have been recognized internationally because of their work."
Murder counts exclude vehicular homicides and those determined to be "justifiable," which usually indicates cases of self-defense.
The first "justifiable" homicide occurred on Jan. 6 when state employee John Kuczwanski rammed his Ford F-150 pickup truck into a car at a Circle K in North Tallahassee. Kuczwanski pulled out a gun and shot at the other driver, who returned fire, killing Kuczwanski. State Attorney Jack Campbell called this a "clear act of self-defense."
A month later, Tallahassee police officers found Cameron Dugans, 28, dead outside an apartment in the 2300 block of Columbia Court. Meanwhile, another man was barricaded inside his nearby apartment. He was brought in for questioning and the shooting was eventually determined to be justifiable as a result of self-defense, according to TPD. Little has been released about the circumstances of the incident.
Gun violence injuries spiking
In the majority of cases last year, a gun was identified as the murder weapon. There were also two mass shootings about a month apart, which inflicted fatal injuries on two innocent bystanders and injured a dozen others. And though the total number of shootings were down, gun violence injuries — which have been increasing since 2019 — rose by nearly 15.
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There were 213 shootings in Tallahassee in 2022, according to a TPD count obtained by the Democrat through a public record request. A total of 96 people were injured and 13 were killed.
The year before, there were 237 shootings, resulting in 82 injuries and 12 deaths.
"What has remained constant is that majority of our suspects and victims are known to each other," Revell said in a written statement, adding that women were among many of the year's victims.
At least two innocent bystanders were also killed in the crossfire of a gun battle.
"One component is that a bullet doesn’t have a name," Revell said. "When a person begins to shoot at a person or into a crowd there is no way of knowing whether or not they are going to actually shoot the person they were aiming for."
He said TPD will continue identifying high crime areas and staffing officers to patrol them through the new year. He also mentioned domestic situations, saying "We all have to continue to do our part to let victims of domestic violence know that law enforcement stands behind them and there are a number of resources to help women or men who are suffering in silence get the help they need to get out."
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On multiple occasions, TPD has said victims and witness of shootings were not willing to provide information to help ongoing investigations. In response to these instances, Revell made a plea.
"Not only do we need people to feel empowered and encouraged to speak up before something happens, but we also want people to speak up after the fact," he wrote. "We want you to put yourself in the shoes of someone who has just lost a loved one. Wouldn’t you want the person who is responsible to be held accountable?"
LCSO focuses on preventative crime programs and the drug trade
Sheriff Walt McNeil said his deputies, administrators and staff are continuing to search for paths to prevent crime "at the embryonic stage."
"Young persons who are now 20, 23, 24 — they're out there and they've chosen a lifestyle and, for those persons, we'll have to try and get assistance. But if we can't, we will arrest them and get off our streets," he told the Democrat. "But there are other kids that are in these circumstances by no fault of their own and, in these circumstances, we're going to see if we can get them help early."
McNeil pointed to the county's All-In initiative, which seeks to combine community resources to form a robust safety net for those in need. The initiative includes the Council on the Status of Men and Boys, which was formed months after a study by the county found young men in their late teens are early 20s, who were living in the county's poorest areas and expelled from school, were disproportionately involved in murders over a five-year period.
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In addition, LCSO will focus efforts on tier structured investigations into the local drug trade, which McNeil said has been a large contributor to shootings, in for example, botched robberies and drug deals. Other elements of the recent gun-violence include turf clashes and domestic violence, McNeil said.
At the top is the "high intensity drug stuff," as the sheriff called it. LCSO is "digging our heels and going after" drug dealers operating "criminal enterprises" in the Big Bend and South Georgia regions. Deputies also investigate "middle persons" who are engaged in drugs locally including low-level, "nickel and dime" dealers.
"We're going after every aspect of persons involved in bringing that stuff into our community because it does fuel the crimes that you see with respect to some of the shootings," McNeil said.
Leon County remains one of the most dangerous in the state, incomplete FDLE report says
Leon County has the highest violent crime rate per capita in the state, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's Annual Uniform Crime Report for 2021.
However, the FDLE crime report is incomplete. As Florida law enforcement agencies transition their crime reporting methods, many counties including Duval and Hillsborough counties have not participated in the latest annual crime report. The completed analysis will be uploaded later this year, according to the FDLE website.
Leon County led the participating counties at 619 violent offenses per 100,000 people in 2021, FDLE said. Following were Escambia County, 592; Bradford County, 551; Jefferson County, 535; and Orange County, 519.
Including property crime rates, Leon County — which had approximately 2,914 offences per 100,000 people in 2021 — is second only to Bradford County at 3,109 in 2021, the report said.
Leon County has been one of the top four most dangerous counties in the state when measured by crime rate per capita since 2014.
However, murder, rape, robbery and burglary all decreased in the capital county from 2020. And there was a 5% drop in crime county wide, mirroring the state trend.
Across Florida, crime reduced to a 50-year low, the FDLE report says. In addition, the state's total crime volume dropped 8.3% compared with 2020.
A roll call of 2022 murder victims
1. Tennor Bryant lll, 35, was shot and killed on Jan. 1 after he and another man got into a heated argument on Okaloosa Street. Within days, police arrested Nathan Lewis on a second-degree murder charge. Bryant attended Gadsden County public schools and lived in Tallahassee for 15 years up to his death, according to an obituary.
2. Jorge Diaz-Johnston, an iconic gay rights activist, was strangled on Jan. 4 in his Alachua Avenue apartment. Months after Diaz-Johnston's body was found in a Jackson County landfill, his roommate Steven Yinger was arrested on a charge of first-degree murder.
3. Antonio Meyers, 29, who was known as Antonio Zamora, was shot and killed Jan. 7 in the hail of over 30 bullets in the parking lot of the former nightclub Good Vibes Only. Meyers was a local rapper and the father of a young girl. Jordan Brown and Dequan Blount have been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the case.
4. MaKayla "MK" Bryant, a 22-year-old graduate student at Florida A&M University, was fatally shot on Jan. 26 during a botched drug deal. Bryant led FAMU's cheerleading team during the 2019-20 school year and was the member of a sorority and a national honors society. Investigators arrested Khalil Ogilvie, the accused shooter, on a charge of first-degree murder. He remains in the Leon County Detention Facility, awaiting trial.
5. Demario Gurley Jr., 17, was shot and killed on Jan. 27 during a botched robbery, according to court records. Police say Gurley and his brother Javontea Williams attempted to rob another person when Gurley was shot. Williams pleaded no contest to a second-degree murder charge in connection with the case. He was sentenced in November to 10 years in prison followed by 10 years of probation.
6. Michael Dean was shot and killed in a South Tallahassee apartment on Feb. 20 after an argument, according to court records. Charles Malphurs lll was arrested on a charge of first degree murder and remains in the Leon County Detention Facility.
7. Kaloni Grice, a 17-year-old Rickards High School student was fatally shot on March 12 at the Inverness Apartments. A party attended by 30 teens and young adults preceded the shooting. No one has been arrested in this case.
8. Cecilia Lopez-Quessada, 74, was strangled on April 5. She was the mother of two children and had four grandchildren. She was also the director of global contract operations at Aderant, a legal software company. Martin "Eric" Barrett, her roommate, has been arrested on a charge of first-degree murder. He remains in the Leon County Jail.
9. Shaunta Stevens, 30, was shot to death on April 29. She was found in the driver's seat of a vehicle in the parking lot of the Glen Hollow apartment complex. She is the mother of two daughters and three sons, according to an obituary. Jhakari Wesley was arrested on a first-degree murder charge in connection with the case. He remains in the Leon County Detention Facility.
10. An unidentified man was found dead on May 22 by an apparent gunshot wound at a house in east Tallahassee. The man's name has not been publicly released because of the police department's interpretation of Marsy's Law, a state constitutional amendment that guarantees privacy rights for crime victims. No suspects have been arrested in this case.
11. Joan Ffolkes, 80, was stabbed to death on May 27 while inside her home in the 1600 block of Harbor Club Drive. Her daughter, Brigette Ffolkes, was arrested on a charge of premeditated murder. She was sentenced to life in prison after being adjudicated guilty in November.
12. Malique Richardson, a 24-year-old Leon High School graduate and Marine, was killed on July 8 when he opened the front door of his girlfriend's Seminole Grand apartment to a hail of gunfire. No suspects have been identified or arrested in connection with this case.
13. An unidentified man was killed in on Sept. 9 during a home invasion at the Plato’s Villas at San Marcos Apartments. De Ante Green has been arrested on murder charges, according to court records. Another unidentified man was killed in the shooting, but it was determined to be justified. Green remains in the Leon County Detention Facility.
14. Michael Markell was fatally stabbed outside a Walgreens, 140 Capital Circle SW, on the evening of Oct. 13, according to court records. A witness at the scene described it as an "unprovoked attack." Orlando Estrada-Cabrera has been arrested on a charge of second-degree murder. He remains in the Leon County Jail.
15. Tanya Griffin, a 27-year-old Georgia woman, was found strangled on Oct. 23 off Wiley Road in North Leon County. Da'Vhon Young Sr. was arrested on a charge of first-degree premeditated murder. He is in the Leon County Jail without bail awaiting trial.
16. An unidentified 17-year-old girl, only identified as "M. Kitchen" in court records, was killed and another woman was injured in a shooting on Oct. 24 in the The Savoy at Southwood Apartments. Jibril Griffin, who police say was the girl's ex-boyfriend, has been charged with homicide and attempted homicide in connection with the case, court records say. Police believe there were multiple shooters and identified Griffin as a "gang member."
17. Demario “Ro” Murray, a groundskeeper at Florida State University, was fatally injured in a mass shooting that injured eight others on Oct. 29 in the parking lot of Half Time Liquors. Murray, an innocent bystander, is the father of two young girls. Four suspects have been arrested in connection with the shooting. De'Arius Cannon, the first arrestee to go to trial, was found guilty of attempted manslaughter.
19. Travis Huntley, 20, was killed in a mass shooting on Nov. 27 that injured four others at the outdoor basketball courts Florida A&M University Hansel Tookes Student Recreation Center. Huntley was a former basketball player for FAMU DRS and was scheduled to start working at the Habitat For Humanity the week he was caught in a crossfire. Two men, Chedderick Thomas and Da'Vhon Young Jr., both 21, face counts of first-degree homicide and attempted homicide.
20. James Ledendecker was found dead on Dec. 3 in the area of 3840 North Monroe at what police called a "transient camp" in the woods near the tax collector's office in court records. Dusty McDonald was charged with second-degree murder and remains in the Leon County Detention Facility without bail.
21. Kiara Daniels was found dead from apparent gun shot wounds on Dec. 28 in the parking lot of the Terra Lake Apartments. She was a graduate of FAMU DRS and a former employee at Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare. Police arrested Kenyadric Smith, Daniels' 21-year-old boyfriend, on charges of premeditated murder and armed robbery.
Contact Christopher Cann at ccann@tallahassee.com and follow @ChrisCannFL on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Murders in Leon County uptick in 2022; remain well below record high
