Reward now $100,000 for police shooting suspect

As the search for the most wanted man in Tampa has stretched from hours into days, hundreds of law enforcement officers from multiple agencies have been brought in to join the massive pursuit.

To stamp out any chance for Dontae Rashawn Morris to find safe harbor, investigators have been tracking down his friends and relatives to question them about his whereabouts.

To encourage potential leads, authorities have set the bounty for Morris, accused of slaying two Tampa police officers, at $100,000 - the largest reward for a fugitive in the city's history.

Yet somehow Morris has managed to slip under the massive net cast to ensnare him.

"You try not to get frustrated," Tampa police Chief Jane Castor said. "The fact that he has been able to stay underground this long is surprising to me."

The police chief vowed not to ease up on the hunt.

"We're going to keep up this effort and this intensity until Dontae Morris is under arrest," she said.

Since the fatal shooting early Tuesday of Tampa police Officers David Curtis and Jeffrey Kocab, tactical teams storming through Tampa neighborhoods have become a familiar sight.

Police and other agencies were at several locations Wednesday night. The most visible was at Powhatan Avenue and 43rd Street, where heavily armed squads went door to door at an apartment complex.

There, authorities detained one of Morris' friends. No one was charged.

Castor said she thinks Morris may be going to locations familiar to him and getting help from friends.

To anyone who may be shielding him, Castor issued a warning: "We've got a jail cell right next to Mr. Morris. If somebody is harboring him, they are going to face charges."

Information, she said, "points to him being in this geographic area. Morris is moving around, if not along East Hillsborough Avenue, then the Tampa Bay area."

Maj. Gerald Honeywell, commander of police District 3, sent out 30 patrol officers Wednesday night to distribute fliers printed with photographs of Morris and information about the reward.

Curtis and Kocab, gunned down Tuesday morning during a traffic stop east of Ybor City, worked the midnight shift at District 3.

"I'd like to make an analogy," Honeywell said. "This is like when you have trash in your home. When you don't make it a point to take out the garbage, the trash begins to smell.

"This guy, wherever he is, is going to begin to smell up that house and we are going to find him. Just keep your nose clear and we are going to smell out that bad guy."

Morris, 24, is wanted on two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of the officers. He was released from state prison in April after serving two years of a drug conviction.

Investigators also continued the search Wednesday for Morris' 21-year-old brother, Dwayne Daniel Callaway, who is wanted on two counts of violation of probation stemming from a domestic battery charge. Detectives want to question Callaway about his brother.

The search for Morris has continued since Curtis and Kocab were found shot on 50th Street shortly after 2:15 a.m. Tuesday.

Investigators say Cortnee Nicole Brantley, 22, was behind the wheel of the Toyota Camry that Curtis pulled over for a missing tag. Morris was the passenger.

Brantley gave her identification and vehicle registration, but it didn't match the Toyota. Morris gave officers his real name.

When the officers learned Morris was wanted on a misdemeanor warrant out of Jacksonville, they got him out of the car and were about to arrest him when he shot the officers in the head at close range, investigators said.

Morris ran from the scene. Brantley drove away. She was taken into custody, but not charged, on Tuesday afternoon. Investigators released her after seven hours of questioning.

Castor said it was a difficult decision to release Brantley, but it was done "for good of the investigation."

At least nine local, state and federal law enforcement agencies are involved in the hunt for Morris, Tampa police spokeswoman Andrea Davis said.

Castor addressed concerns that Morris would not be allowed to surrender.

"The men and women in the Tampa Police Department are professionals," she said. "We are going to take him into custody safely. How that is done is determined by Dontae Morris."