Mitch Perry
Tampa Police Chief Brian Dugan is “optimistic” a man with a gun at a McDonald’s restaurant in Ybor City Tuesday afternoon could be linked to four recent killings in Seminole Heights.
Dugan said his agency received a tip at 2:45 p.m. of a man was brandishing a gun at the McDonald’s on E. 13th Avenue. The unidentified man was confronted, and taken in to be interviewed.
The man was not put in custody at the time, the chief pointed out.
The TPD has received over 5,000 tips since the four murders began last month in Seminole Heights, but Dugan admits he is “optimistic” that Tuesday’s tip about the man could be linked to the killings.
“We have to be very careful about what we release because this person might be completely innocent,” said Dugan, who met with reporters at Tampa Fire Rescue Station #4, south of the McDonald’s.
As of 5 p.m., the man had been arrested.
The suspect in the Seminole Heights killings is described as an African-American male with a light complexion. Officials believe he is approximately 6′ to 6’2″ tall, with a thin build. He was armed with a large black pistol.
“We have a gun,” said Dugan. “We don’t know if it’s our gun.”
It has been 51 days since the TPD began searching for the killer of Benjamin Mitchell, killed October 9.
Mitchell’s death was followed by the killings of Monica Hoffa on October 11, Anthony Taino Naiboa on October 19, and Ronald Felton on Nov. 14. Each of the murders was within 10 blocks of each other in the neighborhood of southeast Seminole Heights.
“It’s been a long time for the families and for the cops, and so I’m guarded on the whole thing, but I’m optimistic,” Dugan said, adding it would be a long night for police.
