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Police Find 2 Dead In Sarasota

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By ANTHONY CORMIER

Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Published: September 3, 2008

SARASOTA - Erika Williams turned 20 on Monday and wanted to get a new tattoo to celebrate. So she called a close friend to take her out.

Rodney Lamb picked her up in the late afternoon. The last anyone heard from them, Lamb and Williams were going to get something to eat.

Their bodies were found early Tuesday in Sarasota, shot to death in a double homicide that left family members heartsick and perplexed.

Williams and Lamb - who had an on-and-off romance, some friends say - were discovered by a police officer at 4 a.m. on David Avenue, in a neighborhood far from their homes.

The officer, Tammy Johnson, had been called to a disturbance four blocks away. As she drove down David Avenue, she saw Lamb's body in the road.

Lamb, 34, had a gunshot wound in his head. Williams was slumped over in the passenger seat.

The rest of the morning, police searched the car for clues.

Detectives would not release details of the investigation, although a source says that one woman - believed to be a witness - was taken in for questioning.
Sarasota police Capt. Stan Duncan said the agency would not speculate on a motive. "We're looking at everything," he said.

Tuesday morning, nearly 100 people gathered in the neighborhood to watch detectives investigate. It was a sweltering morning and tempers quickly flared. Family members yelled at one another while they sat under a tree; residents cursed the witness as she was escorted to a squad car; a friend said police took too long to confirm the victims' names; and speculation about a motive was rampant.

"She don't mess with nobody," said Kathy McNeil, 34, a friend of Williams. "And this neighborhood ain't that bad. It's not like there are shootings here every day."

Those close to the victims differ about the extent of their relationship. Some say Williams and Lamb were just friends; others say there was something deeper.

Williams was raised in Sarasota and graduated from Booker High School in 2006. She remained close to her family, and spoke to her younger sister, Keema, late on Monday.

"She said she was going out and I told her happy birthday," Keema Williams said. "That was the last time I spoke to her."

Lamb, who lives in Manatee County, was known as a friendly prankster with a knack for making children laugh. He once lived at the Janie Poe public housing complex in Sarasota, where some of his family members remain.

"He was a good dude," said Jeanette Muldrow, 22. "He knew me when I was little, and he always stopped to say hi. Even as I grew up, he was always trying to make me smile, cracking jokes, trying to be funny."

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