Suspect in shootings of Tampa officers has lengthy record

The man wanted in the shooting of two Tampa police officers has had numerous run-ins with the law, while the woman suspected of driving the getaway car has been arrested twice in Hillsborough County for minor infractions, records show.

Tampa police first arrested Dontae Rashawn Morris in October 2003 on a charge of battery by a detained person. He was 18 at the time and already on probation for possession and delivery of cocaine, records show.

The arrests continued in Hillsborough County with charges that included carjacking, driving without a valid license, tampering with a witness and attempted first-degree murder. Florida Department of Law Enforcement records show he has been arrested 18 times.

The attempted first-degree murder charge occurred in October 2005 when Morris, who was 20 at the time, allegedly shot at a man walking near the corner of Sligh Avenue and 15th Street. Morris was allegedly in a vehicle with two other men when they approached the victim, James Harvey Wright.

Someone in the car demanded money, but Wright said he didn't have any. He was shot in the back, shoulder and arm.

A day later, police stopped a vehicle in the area of the shooting that fit the description. Inside the car, they found a sawed-off shotgun under the passenger seat and spent shells on the floor. Morris was arrested and charged with attempted murder, felony robbery and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

In the March 2006 trial, a jury acquitted Morris on all charges.

Two months later, Morris was arrested on possession of a controlled substance. He was stopped and couldn't produce a driver's license. Officers said they searched him and found 50 grams of rock cocaine in his pocket. He was placed on probation.

In November 2007, a security officer stopped Morris at the Johnson Kenneth Court Apartments in Tampa for trespassing. When officers arrived on the scene, they found a cocaine rock in his pocket.

Morris pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine and violating his probation. He was sentenced to 27 months in state prison to run concurrently. Morris, 24, was released in April.

Police are still searching for Morris. He is wanted on two counts of first-degree murder and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, Tampa police Chief Jane Castor said.

His family has asked for Morris to turn himself in and has offered its condolences to the families of the slain officers.

The alleged driver of the car, Cortneé Brantley, 22, was taken into custody Tuesday afternoon at an apartment where she used to live, police said. She was released Tuesday night after questioning but could still face charges, Castor said.

Friends said Brantley is a popular, quiet and mellow person who lives with her family in Seffner. A graduate of Armwood High, she was attending Hillsborough Community College to study psychology, a friend said.

While Morris is her boyfriend, friends said, it isn't like Brantley to get into trouble.

"She's the type of person who stays away from drama," said Courtney Bell, a friend who lives in Tampa.

Bell said Brantley probably didn't know Morris was carrying a gun.

"She probably didn't know he had it on him," Bell said. "But nowadays everybody has a gun."

"I'm surprised; it's not like her," Bell said. "She's a soft-spoken person. She was probably at the wrong place, at the wrong time."

Records show Brantley has been arrested twice in Hillsborough County, records show.

She was first arrested in June 2006 for giving a false name to Temple Terrace police officers. The charge was reduced to a misdemeanor first degree and adjudication was withheld, records show.

She also was arrested in January for a warrant for driving while her license was canceled, suspended or revoked. The case is pending.

"I hope she's safe," Bell said. "I'll keep her in my prayers tonight."