DNA solves 1991 St. Pete slaying, but suspect is now dead

Authorities say they have solved an 18-year-old homicide by resubmitting for analysis a baseball cap that was accidentally left behind by the killer. Technology has advanced to the point where DNA could be gleaned from the headwear, they say.

The suspect, however, died in an unsolved drive-by shooting in 2007.

On July 16, 1991, James Butler returned to his home at 4300 Burlington Ave. N. after renting a video at a Blockbuster video store when he was accosted, St. Petersburg police say. Butler, 25, had parked his vehicle behind his home and was preparing to go inside when a gunman confronted him and shot him once in the chest.

The gunman took Butler's car keys and stole his vehicle, police say, in what has been described as a random act.

Neighbors heard the gunshot and called police, who found Butler dying on his outside patio. The gunman had left behind his University of Miami baseball cap on the victim's patio and a bicycle in some bushes nearby.

The next morning, Butler's car was recovered three miles away.

There were palm prints on the bicycle, as well as partial fingerprints, but they were not of decent enough quality for a submission to the Automated Fingerprint Identification System to be compared with those on file.

The police department also initially submitted the suspect's baseball cap for DNA processing, but the sample was not decent enough to glean a profile from it. Over the years, however, DNA technology has improved drastically, and when police resubmitted the cap this year, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement was able to identify who was wearing the cap.

He has been identified as Alphonso Williams, 37.

Since then, Williams' fingerprints have also been tied to the crime.

On Sept. 6, 2007, Williams and Vashion Manning were riding bicycles away from a convenience store at 15th Avenue South and 49th Street South when a white Ford Expedition pulled up beside them in the 1600 block of 47th Street South, St. Petersburg police say.

Someone leaned out of the rear passenger window and fired multiple rounds from a handgun, killing Williams and striking Manning in the leg, police say. This case is still an open and active investigation.