Police arrested a Florida man accused of taking pictures a household sleeping of their automotive earlier this week, leaving a pregnant lady injured, the Tampa Police Division introduced Saturday.
Police arrested Christopher Stamat Jr., 21, Saturday in reference to the Oct. 5 taking pictures, by which he allegedly shot at a homeless household of 5 sleeping of their automotive at round 4:30 a.m. Stamat allegedly shot the mom within the head, leaving her with non-life threatening accidents, in accordance with police.
Stamat faces six felony fees for the incident, together with 4 counts of aggravated assault with a lethal weapon, one depend of second diploma tried homicide and one depend of taking pictures right into a car, police stated, including that he’s being held with out bond.
Tampa Police Chief Mary O’Connor stated in a information convention on Sunday morning that police arrested Stamat earlier within the day on Saturday for felony marijuana possession. After making bond for that arrest, Stamat was launched, O’Connor stated. Police arrested him once more later that afternoon after making the case for the taking pictures cost, O’Connor added.
“Our neighborhood as a complete can sleep simpler tonight understanding the suspect linked to this monstrous, random act of violence is not free to prey on harmless folks,” O’Connor stated in a press release following the arrest.
The taking pictures allegedly occurred in a car parking zone throughout from the Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation Complicated within the Previous West Tampa neighborhood, the place the household was sleeping of their automotive.
The daddy, who police stated is in his 30s, noticed one other automotive pull up and allegedly heard gunshots, police stated, including that he yelled for his spouse, who’s in her 20s, and their three kids to get right down to keep away from the bullets.
The suspect allegedly fired greater than a dozen pictures earlier than fleeing.
The girl, who’s pregnant, was struck within the head and transported to an area hospital for non-life-threatening accidents, police stated.
The youngsters — a 9-year-old lady, a 4-year-old boy and a 3-year-old lady — had been unhurt within the taking pictures, in accordance with police.
Within the information convention Sunday, O’Connor stated that the mom is “nonetheless within the hospital recovering from her accidents” and that the kids are staying with relations in Florida.
The household has been residing in a rental automotive after lately shifting again to Tampa after a number of months of residing out of state, police stated.
Police purchased the kids breakfast following the incident and quickly put the household up in a lodge, police added.
Police recognized Stamat by tracing his 2012 BMW via surveillance footage from the scene, authorities stated, including that they discovered his automotive the day after the taking pictures within the storage of his girlfriend’s house, about three miles from the scene of the taking pictures.
After acquiring search warrants for Stamat’s automotive and residential, police allegedly discovered an empty gun field for a 9mm handgun and empty shell casings matching these discovered on the scene of the crime, authorities stated.
O’Connor stated on the information convention the handgun police discovered was not the one Stamat allegedly used within the crime.
O’Connor added that the door to the bed room in Stamat’s house by which the shell casings had been discovered allegedly requires his finger print identification to open the door, “so there isn’t any doubt that these shell casings belong to him,” she stated.
Police stated Stamat allegedly admitted he was the one one who has used his automotive lately and that he was driving within the space of the crime the morning of the taking pictures.
Stamat didn’t give police a motive for the taking pictures, authorities stated, including that he allegedly felt he was being stalked and adopted, which his girlfriend additionally confirmed to police was one thing he believed.
Police stated there may be at present no indication of any connection between Stamat and the victims.
O’Connor added within the information convention that the household had clothes overlaying the home windows of their automotive and a visor blocking the view from the windshield, making it unclear whether or not the perpetrator might see who they had been.
