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St. Pete police arrest 3 more suspects in 8-year-old's death

News Channel 8 photo by JASON BEHNKEN

St. Petersburg Police Chief Chuck Harmon speaks to the media outside the police station about the arrest of three suspects in the killing of Paris Whitehead-Hamilton.

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By RAY REYES | The Tampa Tribune

Published: April 8, 2009

Updated: 04/08/2009 11:07 pm

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Mario Wells

Duong Nguyen

Dondre Davis

Police say they have caught the last of the men responsible for riddling a St. Petersburg home with bullets over the weekend, killing an 8-year-old girl.

The three, all teenagers, were arrested after police received information they were holed up at a home in the northwest part of the city this afternoon. Police waited until the trio got into a car and drove away at about 3 p.m., then stopped the blue Honda Accord and arrested the three without incident near 29th Avenue North and 4th Street North.

The men have been identified as Mario Lewis Walls, 18, of 711 15th Street South, Apartment A103; Duong Dai Nguyen, 19, of 6400 46th Avenue North, Unit 55; and Dondre Davis,19, of 2430 30th Street South.

"I didn't do it. Not my guns,'' Davis said late tonight as he was being taken from the police station to jail.

Davis has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the shooting, and burglary on a warrant from a previous case. Charges are still pending against Walls and Nguyen. They were scheduled to be taken to the Pinellas County Jail late Wednesday.

"It's not our intention to let them back on the streets of St. Petersburg,'' Police Chief Chuck Harmon said at an evening press conference.

Paris Whitehead-Hamilton was killed Sunday when a hail of 50 bullets struck her home at 771 Preston Ave. S. Police said she died because of an escalating feud between rival groups from different neighborhoods that started five or six weeks ago with a fistfight.

On Saturday, one of the men involved in the fistfight fired a gun at the other; the next night, a pack of gunmen drove by the Preston Avenue house and fired off more than 50 rounds. Nine people were in the house that night; Paris was hit three times in the back as she fled from her bedroom.

Police did not elaborate today on what role Walls, Nguyen and Davis played in the death of Paris.

"We're still trying to determine the exact involvement of these men,'' Harmon said.

Already arrested in connection with the shooting was Stephan Harper of 731 15th St. S.

Harper was arrested Sunday night and charged with first-degree murder. He planned and participated in the drive-by shooting, police say.

Investigators previously have seized the weapons they say were involved in the shooting. They include two AR-15 semi-automatic rifles, two 12 gauge pump shotguns with pistol grips and a .308 caliber hunting rifle with a scope.

The death of an innocent girl from what appears to be a neighborhood feud has galvanized crime- and violence-weary residents, about 25 of whom held a vigil at the home again this evening.

The gathering was led by minister Bernard Jenkins, an elder at the House of God Church. He urged residents to end the cycle of violence.

"There's always some retaliation on somebody's part,'' Jenkins said. "Hopefully in this neighborhood it's over.''

That theme was echoed by 26-year-old Shakeyla Jenkins, 26, who is not related to the minister but attended the vigil because two of her nieces had gone to pre-kindergarten with Paris.

"We need to quit fighting each other,'' Shakeyla Jenkins said. "You win some or you lose some. Don't take it to a gunfight.''

Some of Paris' relatives were at the vigil but didn't want to comment yet. An aunt said "Oh, thank God'' when told of Wednesday's arrests.

Later that evening, police chief Harmon was asked if neighborhood residents should feel safe after Wednesday's arrests. "I'm hoping it would bring them some closure,'' Harmon said, "but there's still other folks we need to talk to that may be involved in this.''

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