Arrests made in deadly Interstate 4 shooting
PLANT CITY, Fla. - Hillsborough County detectives said they have arrested multiple people following the murder of a 17-year-old who was killed during a shooting on Interstate 4.
The shooting occurred on Aug. 24. That day, deputies and Florida Highway Patrol troopers responded to a report of shots fired in the eastbound lanes of the highway, near McIntosh Road. However, when they arrived, there was no obvious evidence of a shooting.
Soon after, a bullet ridden car arrived at the South Florida Baptist Hospital in Plant City. The 17-year-old male victim was injured and unconscious when the driver and passenger, both minors who were unharmed, brought him.
The teen died a short time later.
Investigators said the shooting was not random, but was targeted since the suspects knew the victim.
Hillsborough Sheriff Chad Chronister said detectives arrested three people in the shooting. Jaris Youngblood Jr., 20, has been charged with premeditated first-degree murder, shooting into a vehicle, and tampering with evidence. His brother, 22-year-old Jarkese Youngblood, is charged as principal to first-degree murder, along with tampering with evidence. Jarkese's girlfriend, 19-year-old Sha'quandra Williams, is charged with tampering with evidence.
According to investigators, the suspects spotted the victim traveling in another car on I-4 and decided to shoot at the vehicle.
Witnesses on the highway called 911, reporting a gold Ford Taurus shooting at another car. Chronister said Jaris was the one who fired the shots, while Jarkese was behind the wheel. The sheriff said Williams had an infant in her lap and told the brothers to watch out for the baby during the shooting.
The 17-year-old victim, who had been riding with two friends, was struck in the torso and later died.
"The Youngblood brothers not only worked together to kill the teenage victim, they showed no regard for other innocent drivers on I-4 or even the infant child who was riding in the car with them," Chronister said in a news conference.
All three suspects face charges of tampering with evidence because, Chronister said, they wiped down their vehicle with bleach after the shooting and disposed of the vehicle at a junkyard.
The shooting is one of three that occurred along I-4, while two others occurred on Interstate 75.
The first I-4 shooting happened back on June 15. FHP spotted a vehicle near 21st Street near I-4. Inside a victim had been shot, but survived.
On July 16, two men in their 20s were riding in a white Nissan Altima about 3 a.m. when suspects in a white Jeep Cherokee started shooting near the southbound exit ramp to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Responding troopers found the pair dead inside the car.
On August 22, the driver of a Toyota was found after being shot at on I-4 near the Hillsborough Avenue exit. FHP says the driver was wounded, but survived.
The most recent shooting occurred on Aug. 26 in Polk County. A man said someone in a red Mustang shot at his car in Lakeland.
The sheriff's office said the arrests are not connected to any of the other shootings. Chronister said ballistic testing done by FDLE confirmed the incident was not connected to any other interstate shooting currently under investigation.