Suspected gunman accused in 2017 double murder at Longboat Key’s Zota Beach Resort charged
Arrest made in 2017 resort murders
Why would anyone want to kill two Longboat Key resort workers? Longboat Key police now have answers nearly eight years after the Zota Beach Resort murders first occurred. Kimberly Kuizon reports.
LONGBOAT KEY, Fla. - Longboat Key police have made another arrest in the 2017 double murder at the Zota Beach Resort. This time they say they charged the man who pulled the trigger.
Zota Beach Resort double murder
The backstory:
Zota Beach Resort night manager, Timothy Hurley, and security guard, Kevin Carter, were gunned down during an armed robbery.
A security camera captured a masked man getting away with $900 in cash. A week later, Longboat Key police arrested part-time security guard Darryl Hanna Jr, but the department felt more people were involved.
Since August 4, 2017, the case has weighed heavily on the mind of Longboat Key Police Captain Robert Bourque.
Zota Beach Resort night manager, Timothy Hurley, and security guard, Kevin Carter, were shot and killed during an armed robbery in 2017.
"It was always an open chapter of a violent event that happened on Longboat Key," Captain Bourque told FOX 13. "We thought about the case daily and looked at it on a daily basis and tried to produce new leads and strategies."
READ: Dover woman loses $15K after scammers used artificial intelligence to impersonate daughter
Over the years, more information has come out about the robbery, which investigators say was fueled by greed.
More suspects
Police determined Darryl Hanna Jr.'s friend and his sister, Latoya Hanna, were involved.
In January 2024, the Longboat Key Police Department said Latoya Hanna was arrested for felony murder for her involvement in the case, but it wasn’t over.
"We promised everybody, especially the family, that we weren’t going to stop and so this is really the beginning of the end with the arrests," explained Capt. Bourque.
A break came in 2020 when investigators came across a murder charge against Damien Garvin, Latoya Hanna’s boyfriend.
Pictured: Damien Garvin
What they're saying:
"He’s been on the radar for years. What I can say is that a crime that he committed and was convicted of in North Miami Beach. Evidence of that crime helped us move our investigation forward to the point where we are now on an arrest warrant," Capt. Bourque stated.
According to an arrest affidavit, through multiple rounds of testing, investigators determined the gun Garvin used in Miami was a match to the shell casings used to kill Hurley and Carter.
A partner's pain
In 2017, Carter’s partner, Thomas Swigeart, spoke to FOX 13 about his loss.
READ: Polk County man accused of stealing more than $130K worth of weed from cannabis dispensary
"He was always there. He’s always behind you. Helping you. Loving me. "He was just an angel," Swigeart said.
Swigeart wanted to know why the murders occurred.
What happened the night of the Zota Beach Resort double murder?
Dig deeper:
An arrest affidavit for Garvin said the group of criminals ordered Carter to the floor, as they forced Hurley to empty the resort’s cash drawer.
According to the affidavit, Garvin told Hurley to open the safe. Hurley said he didn’t have the combo to open the safe. The affidavit said Damien told Hurley if he didn’t open the safe, he was going to ‘kill him.’ Hurley told Damien he didn’t have the code.
A member of the group, Gernicha Davis, said she heard a gunshot and Hurley yelling out. Garvin told Hurley to open the safe once more. When he did not, Garvin shot and killed Hurley. On their way out, the affidavit said Garvin shot Carter several times as the group fled.
"No matter what questions we ask or how many condolences we receive or what the court says, our loved ones are still gone. Permanently," Swigeart told Fox 13 in August 2017.
‘Justice is finally being served’
Timothy Swigeart passed away before he could see justice for his partner.
Now nearly eight years later, the pain is still carried by those connected to the case. I don’t think we can say this is going to bring closure to anybody.
"Maybe in some place it will allow them to at least feel that justice is finally being served," said Capt. Bourque.
What's next:
Garvin is scheduled to be back in court on August 22.
Darryl Hanna Jr., the first suspect arrested, has since passed away before standing trial.
Darryl Hanna Jr.’s friend, Gernicha Davis, who was also involved in the crime, told detectives what happened, but she too passed away before charges could be brought against her.
The Source: Information was gathered by FOX 13’s Kimberly Kuizon through arrest affidavits, court records and the Longboat Key Police Department.