TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Slaying Suspect Accused Of Threat

ADVERTISEMENT

By JOSH POLTILOVE

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 3, 2008

TAMPA - The man facing a murder charge in a Brandon nightclub shooting in 2007 has been arrested on a charge of tampering with a witness in the case.

Tyrone Lamont Grimes drove up to the witness Thursday morning in a maroon Ford Taurus and stared at him while waving a black semiautomatic handgun in his left hand before driving off, an arrest affidavit states. The witness was walking with his young daughter so she could catch a ride to school, according to the affidavit.

The witness gave the Taurus' tag number to Hillsborough County deputies; the car was registered to Grimes' wife.

Another witness told deputies he saw a man pull up alongside the victim and wave a gun in a threatening manner, the affidavit states. Grimes was arrested later that day.

Grimes' attorney, Ronald Kurpiers II, said Grimes is innocent of the tampering and second-degree murder charges.

"They're alleging he drove by a witness and made a threatening action toward him, and it just didn't happen," Kurpiers said.

There will be a hearing this morning on a motion to revoke Grimes' bail, court records show.

Bystander In Club Was Killed

Witnesses say that on Oct. 17, someone fired three shots from a handgun inside Fluid, a club at 2016 Town Center Blvd. Sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter said Grimes fired several shots after an argument with someone at the club and that the victim, Karen Williams, 36, was a bystander.

Authorities say there were about 100 people in the club, which became Cee-Jay's Martini Bar and Lounge in late 2007. Williams died at the scene. She had three children.

In a January interview with The Tampa Tribune from jail, Grimes said he was in the club when the shooting occurred but said he never fired a gun. Instead, he said, someone shot at him.

He had been trying to start a music promotion company. The people who fired shots in the club had a record label, he said.

"I went in the club promoting and left the club feeling like I lost my whole life," Grimes said in January. "I recently had a car stolen and burnt up. It was rumored people were getting tired of me in Tampa, period. I guess they thought I was here trying to spark off what they were trying to do."

Grimes Says He Left Club Bloody

Grimes said a fight broke out at the club and a couple people attacked him. There was a struggle over a gun, but it wasn't his and he never gained possession of it, he said. When he left the club, he was bloody and injured and said he thought he had been shot.

He said he fled the people who were shooting at him and only later learned deputies were searching for him. After the shooting, Grimes said, he spent three months hiding in Miami. He said he could not afford a lawyer and was afraid he'd be convicted of a crime he didn't commit.

He was arrested Jan. 28. His bail was set at $165,000, and he was released May 17.

In his arrest Thursday, Grimes, 28, was charged with possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia and arrested on warrants for tampering with a witness, being a felon in possession of a firearm and improper exhibition of a dangerous weapon or firearm, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office jail Web site.

Williams' family wants Grimes to stay in jail without bail.

"Until all of this is played out, that's the best place for him," said Sabrina Mitchell, Williams' sister.

Reporter Thomas W. Krause contributed to this report. Reporter Josh Poltilove can be reached at (813) 259-7691 or jpoltilove@tampatrib

.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT