Arrest made in July 24 shooting near St. Armands Circle

An arrest has been made in connection with an early morning shooting last week on St. Armands Key. The Sarasota Police Department has arrested Antonio L. Morris, 15, of Punta Gorda, for the shooting that happened shortly before 1 a.m. on Monday, July 24, near the intersection of Jackson Drive and South Washington Drive. 

Two adult victims were taken to the hospital with minor injuries. Morris is facing a felony charge of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.

On July 24, Sarasota police officers responded to the shooting. A suspect, described as a slender Black male with long dreadlocks, was seen on security video footage crossing a residential property under construction, holding a rifle while running past a victim who was lying on the ground. 

After further investigation, detectives gathered information of a white Cadillac with a Florida license plate in the area during the time of the shooting. Detectives also had prior knowledge of this vehicle being involved in a prior shooting incident and that it had been used to flee from law enforcement on multiple occasions. 

On Thursday, July 27, detectives learned that Venice Police Department had taken custody of the Cadillac and Morris on an unrelated criminal case. Venice police detectives were sent a video of the Jackson Drive shooting and confirmed Morris fit the physical characteristics of the suspect in the video. 

Sarasota detectives traveled to Venice to conduct an interview with the suspect, which yielded probable cause to charge Morris, who is being held at Sarasota County Juvenile Assessment Center. 

The investigation continues as detectives work to determine if others were involved in the shooting. Anyone with information is asked to call the SPD’s Criminal Investigations Division at 941-263-6070 or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers by calling 941-366-TIPS or online at SarasotaCrimeStoppers.com.