Two suspects arrested on Aug. 2, Sheriff’s Office reports
The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office has arrested two suspects in connection with the alleged murder of a Regatta Drive resident in Sarasota, the agency announced late in the morning of Aug. 8.
Damontae Montrell Tillery, 24, of Sarasota, and Karriem Jermaine McDowell Jr., 23, of Brooksville, have been charged in connection with the death of Edward James Dukes Jr., 47, of Sarasota, who was living at 2724 Regatta Drive, the Sheriff’s Office said.
They were being held without bond, the Corrections Division records showed. Their arraignment is scheduled for Sept. 13.
McDowell also has been charged with violating probation in cases involving the trafficking of fentanyl, his Corrections Division records noted.
Deputies initially responded to the Regatta Drive address on July 25 in reference to a report of an unconscious person,” a news release explained. “On arrival, deputies located a deceased male inside the residence. Further investigation determined that the victim had suffered multiple gunshot wounds,” the release added.
Using various investigative means, the release continued, sheriff’s detectives were able to identify two male suspects and arrest them without incident late Friday, Aug. 2, in Sarasota. Both men remained in custody at the Sarasota County Correctional Facility as of the morning of Aug. 8, the release said.
The investigation is ongoing, the Sheriff’s Office added. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Criminal Investigations Section at 941-861-4900.
The initial Sheriff’s Office news release about the incident — issued on July 30 — said, “Based on the evidence observed at the scene, the death is being investigated as a homicide,” the release explained.
“This is believed to be an isolated incident,” that release continued.
A thread of comments that The Sarasota News Leader reviewed on Nextdoor included a post from a man who reported, “The home had started smelling really bad,” so someone called law enforcement to request what is called a “welfare check,” to determine whether the occupant was all right.
That person added, “[P]olice were there for about four days until finally leaving Saturday [July 27]. “We had to babysit a dog for a week a few houses down and kept an eye on everything going on,” the man continued.
Sheriff’s deputies “actually knocked on my girlfriend’s house … asking if she had any footage from her cameras that are outside her house because she lives right off [Gulf Gate Drive],” the man noted.
A woman who lives in Gulf Gate responded that deputies also had checked with her about outside cameras, but her camera “was dead sadly.”
Another woman posted on the same Nextdoor thread that she knew the person who had requested the welfare check at the house. The person made the call because the occupant of the Regatta Drive residence “had repeatedly not shown up for work,” she pointed out.
The man who had written about the call regarding the “horrible smell” emanating from the house responded that he knew one of the neighbors had called law enforcement because of the odor.
A News Leader check of the address on the Sarasota County Property Appraiser’s website found that the single-family detached home standing at 2724 Regatta Drive is owned by the Judy Ann Giannini Revocable Trust, which has a Sweetmeadow Circle address in Sarasota. The house has been owned by a member of the Giannini family since July 1998, the Property Appraiser’s Office record says.
A News Leader review of records maintained by the Sarasota County Clerk of the Circuit Court and County Comptroller’s Office found that Dukes had a number of traffic infractions dating to April 2004 — speeding, violating the seat belt law and failure to stop at a red light, among them.
However, he also was charged in both February and June 2018 with possessing a controlled substance without a prescription. In the June case, he faced an additional charge of possessing or using narcotics equipment. He entered a plea of “No Contest” in connection with the latter incident and was placed on probation for 18 months.
In the February 2018 case, Dukes had requested representation by a public defender, declaring that he had no income, court records show.
In November 2017, another court record notes, Dukes was served with an eviction notice. At that time, he was living on 42nd Street in Sarasota. County Judge Maryann Boehm ordered the eviction on Dec. 27, 2017, court records show.
As of the deadline for the publication of this issue of the News Leader, the Sheriff’s Office had released no new information about the incident.