TAMPA, Fla. – The suspect wanted for the murder of a man in front of a Suncoast Credit Union location in Tampa has been arrested.
On the morning of March 3, a man was shot and killed in a credit union parking lot in the 1900 block of E. Hillsborough Avenue.
On Wednesday night, Tampa Police Detectives arrested 20-year-old Jeremiah Harris, Jr. He has been charged with Robbery with a Firearm and First-Degree Murder in this case.
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Harris was additionally charged with Armed Robbery for a separate incident on February 21.
“The dedicated work of our officers and skilled investigations of our detectives and fingerprint specialists undoubtedly led to a swift arrest in this case,” said Interim Chief Lee Bercaw. “While this dangerous criminal cannot harm another member of our community, our thoughts remain with the victim’s family. We hope this arrest brings a small sense of comfort in their time of mourning.”
On March 3, 2023, just after 6 AM, Tampa Police Officers responded to Suncoast Credit Union, located at 1920 E Hillsborough Ave, for the report of a man lying in the drive-through and not moving.
Officers arrived to find an adult white male in his early 50s suffering from an apparent gunshot wound. Tampa Fire transported him to a nearby hospital, where he died from his injuries.
Detectives immediately began gathering physical and video evidence from the scene and nearby locations, working to develop leads in the case.
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Detectives were also actively investigating an armed robbery that had taken place at the same location just 11 days earlier. In that case, The victim, an adult black male in his early 20’s, was at the ATM when he was approached by Harris, who pointed a gun and said, “If you don’t give it to me, I’ll kill you.”
Thankfully, the robbery victim was not injured.
Witness statements provided detectives with information that Harris was repeatedly seen wearing clothing and carrying items that matched the suspect in the video surveillance. Investigative resources also led detectives to an apartment in Meridian Pointe, where Harris was known to associate with the resident. A search warrant was executed at that location.
Fingerprint Specialists compared the fingerprints lifted from evidence recovered at the crime scene to those lifted from Jeremiah Harris after the search warrant. Harris’s prints were a match.
During an interview with detectives, Harris provided a post-Miranda confession to both offenses. He was transported to Orient Road Jail.
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