Sarasota man gets two life sentences for 2018 shootings

A Sarasota man has been sentenced to two life sentences plus 75 years on multiple convictions related to a 2018 shooting that left two victims critically wounded but alive.

On Aug. 15, Linval Raymond Cohoone Jr., 39, of Sarasota, was sentenced to two counts of attempted murder, both carrying mandatory life sentences; possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, 15 years; one count of murder for hire, 30 years; and one count of witness tampering, 30 years.

During the early morning hours on April 6, 2018, Sarasota police officers responded to a double shooting at a residence in the 1400 block of 21st Street. Two victims were found inside the home, each suffering from a close-range gunshot wound to the head. Both victims survived, and on April 10, Cohoone was arrested.

A repeat offender, Cohoone had 45 previous felony charges, including aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, robbery, aggravated fleeing to elude, burglary of an occupied structure and possession of cocaine. 

In December of 2021, while still in custody at the Sarasota County Jail, Cohoone solicited an inmate whom he knew was to soon be released, offering $7,500 to kill one of the surviving victims. As a result of that investigation, Cohoone was charged with murder for hire. 

One year later, while he remained in custody, Cohoone directed a three-way call from inside the jail to one of the victims, during which he apologized and begged the victim to help him “get off” the charges. As a result of that investigation, Cohoone was charged with witness tampering.

“We are very pleased with the recent sentencing of Linval Cohoone for the heinous crimes he committed on the victims in this case,” said Capt. Johnathan Todd of the Sarasota Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Division. “This sentence will ensure that Cohoone is never free to harm another innocent victim in our community again.”