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Third Fatal Shooting Jolts Tommytown

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By NEIL JOHNSON

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 19, 2008

Sheriff's detectives are investigating the third killing in the Tommytown area north of Dade City in two days.

Early Sunday, a man in his early- to mid-20s was shot after an argument that began in a dance club parking lot and moved to a convenience store, according to the Pasco County Sheriff's Office.
Detectives have not identified the victim, pending notification of family members, said sheriff's spokesman Doug Tobin.

Investigators do not think the killing is related to Friday night's double-slaying.

"This appears to be a different situation," Tobin said.

The shooting occurred about 2:30 a.m. at the corner of 14th and Lock streets and began with a fight outside the La Onda nightclub. Tobin did not know whether the club served alcohol.

The fight involved a small group of people in their late teens and a group of adults in their 20s and 30s, Tobin said.

The argument had spilled into the parking lot of a Lock Street convenience store when a dark SUV pulled into the parking lot. The victim went up to the vehicle and was shot.
Tobin said deputies are interviewing about a dozen witnesses.

The shooting took place about six blocks from where Santos De La Cruz, 33, and Quirino Velasquez, 46, were found shot to death just before 10 p.m. Friday.

Witnesses said the men, who are Mexican citizens and shared an apartment on 17th Street, had walked to a neighborhood store but never returned. They were shot near the intersection of Meredith and Hutchinson streets.

Anyone with information about the shootings is asked to call the sheriff's office at (727) 844-7711.

Reporter Neil Johnson can be reached at (813) 259-7731 or njohnson@tampatrib.com.

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