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Shank Found In Cell Of Teen Held In Library Beating, Rape

Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office

Detention officers say they found this makeshift weapon in the cell of Kendrick Morris, the teenager who has been charged in a brutal rape.

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By JOSH POLTILOVE | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 30, 2008

A detention deputy found a 5-inch shank today in the jail cell of Kendrick Morris, who was charged in April with the beating and rape of a high school student at the Bloomingdale library.

"We believe the weapon came from plastic broken off a food tray," Col. Jim Previtera said. "The base of the knife was wrapped in a T-shirt to make a handle. The edge had been sharpened, more likely than not, on the concrete. It definitely could have caused serious injury."

Morris is in an area of Falkenburg Road Jail where he has contact with detention staff but doesn't have contact with other inmates, Previtera said. Maintenance work required deputies to move him today.

They found the shank at 8:50 a.m. in a small box of Morris' personal items, Previtera said. Morris wouldn't talk to detectives about why he had the weapon.

Deputies are charging him with introduction of contraband into a detention facility, a third-degree felony.

The 18-year-old rape victim was attacked April 24 outside the Bloomingdale Regional Public Library. She was seriously injured.

Morris, 17, of Clair Mel City, remains in jail without bail.

Reporter Josh Poltilove can be reached at (813) 259-7691.

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