A Florida man who shot a coworker and kidnapped another will spend the rest of his life behind bars.
A Manatee County judge handed 51-year-old Demitrius Tyrone Bell a mandatory life sentence for the shooting and kidnapping of his colleagues at work. Bell was found guilty and convicted by a jury of attempted first-degree murder, aggravated assault with a firearm, armed kidnapping, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
On June 5, 2023, the defendant returned to his workplace at the Tropicana Bradenton plant after his shift, according to ABC 7. Upon arrival, Bell accosted a 39-year-old man and a 38-year-old woman in an argument after he pulled a gun from his waistband. Soon, the defendant shot the male co-worker in the abdomen and kidnapped the female co-worker before fleeing the scene with her.
Two days later, authorities located Bell’s car, and the female co-worker was released in Hillsborough County.
The Bradenton Police Department's Crime Reduction Team received a tip that the defendant had returned to Bradenton after evading authorities for 10 months. As a result, officers responded to the 2800 Block of Manatee Ave. E., where they found Bell on the rooftop of a storage facility and subsequently arrested him. A firearm was found in his possession at the time, which matched the casings found at the scene of the shooting.
The motive for the defendant’s violent attack on his co-workers remains unclear.
The mandatory life sentence was as a result of an enhanced Florida State Three-Time Violent Felony Offender law.
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