Girl wounded, cruiser damaged, five arrested in St. Pete celebratory gunfire

The Tampa Tribune / TBO.com

Crime & Courts

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St. Petersburg police expressed frustration on the first morning of the new year as five men were arrested, a girl was wounded and a police cruiser suffered damage in separate incidents involving celebratory gunfire early Friday morning.

All those incidents transpired just hours after police posted a video on their Facebook page urging residents not to shoot their guns into the air.

“Frustrating comes to mind,” St. Petersburg Police spokesman Mike Puetz of the spate of celebratory gunfire issues despite the department’s public outreach campaign.

That message, which also included public service announcements and media interviews, apparently did not reach Jararski Ra’sharde Sandy, 28; Samuel Madison Lavine, 19; Arron Jordon Woody, 26; and Elijah Dreshaud Johnson, 20, all of St. Petersburg.

Or Arron Rodriguez Hinson, 32, also of St. Petersburg.

Or whoever apparently fired a bullet into the air that superficially wounded a 17-year-old girl who was visiting friends at 1110 32nd St. S, according to police.

That incident happened sometime before 10:30 p.m. according to police, when officer heading out on patrol noticed the damage. It was the first time in recent memory, Puetz said, that a police vehicle was accidently hit by celebratory gunfire.

“We’ve had them shot at on purpose before,” he said.

About two hours later, officers responded to a call of men carrying guns at 2609 3rd Ave. S. around 12:30 a.m. As they approached the scene, shots were fired in the area.

Police found four men at the address — two with rifles — who attempted to flee the scene when they were approached by the officers.

Sandy, Lavine, Woody and Johnson were all arrested.

Sandy faces charges of improper exhibition of a firearm and obstruction. Lavine faces charges of possession of marijuana and obstruction. Wood faces a charge of obstruction. Johnson faces charges of grand theft of a firearm, improper exhibition of a firearm and obstruction.

All told, police confiscated three weapons from the four men.

They were found with a Hi Point Model 995 9mm carbine rifle, a Zastava 7.62 rifle and a Davis Industries P-380 handgun. The carbine was reported stolen, according to Puetz. And the Zastava, a Serbian-made weapon, had a drum magazine with 67 live rounds, he said.

About 90 minutes later, St. Petersburg police had another celebratory gunfire issue, when officers received a call around 2 a.m. of a man shooting a rifle at 640 29th St. S.

When they arrived, police said they found Arron Rodriguez Hinson, 32, sitting in a Monte Carlo in front of the address. There were numerous shell casings on the ground and Puetz said that in the backseat of the car, in plain view, was a Zastava PAP M-92 semi-automatic pistol, said Puetz.

Hinson did not answer the officers’ questions about the gun, and was taken into custody on charges of obstruction and felon in possession of a firearm, police said.

The girl was wounded when she was struck by a stray bullet outside a friend’s home at 1110 32nd St. S. around 12:15 a.m., said Puetz.

She was watching fireworks with two friends during the New Year’s Eve celebration when she said she felt something hit her leg. She looked down and saw she was bleeding, police sid, and suffered a superficial bullet wound in her right upper thigh, police said.

The bullet, which was not recovered, pierced her skin and then exited about an inch away from the point of entry, police said.

She was taken to Bayfront Health St. Petersburg, where she was treated and released, police said.

The girl reported hearing gunfire in the area just before being struck, and police said the bullet fell from the sky, but have not determined from which direction or distance the gun was fired.

No suspect has been identified, Puetz said.

The incident was not the first involving gunfire connected to the address.

On Jan. 27, David Garrett, 17, who lived at that home, was arrested at Le Belle High School in La Belle, east of Fort Myers, on an outstanding warrant charging him with first degree murder in the shooting death of Donald J. Avery, 17 on Oct. 11, 2014, according to St. Petersburg police.

Despite his frustration, Puetz said there was some good news to come out of all this.

Those who were arrested, and whoever fired the shots that hit the girl and the cruiser, do not represent law-abiding gun owners, he said.

“We tend to believe the folks who are doing this are not typical firearms owners,” he said, adding that Hinson was not even supposed to have a gun because he is a convicted felon. “The other folks, frankly, are foolish and irresponsible.”

And the community was instrumental in the arrests.

“We received timely information from people regarding what was going on,” Puetz said. “They saw these people in their neighborhoods and called us. Those were good examples of when the public is able to assist us.”