Sheriff’s Office seeking suspect
The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a shooting that occurred about 11 p.m. on Friday, June 12, in the area of the 1700 Block of Vamo Road, the agency announced that day.
The redacted report on the incident, which The Sarasota News Leader received through a public records request, indicates that it took place near the intersection of Vamo Road and Assisi Drive, which intersects with Vamo Road on the west side of Vamo. The incident was classified as a strong arm robbery.
The report explains that an officer went to Sarasota Memorial Hospital in Venice to talk with the victim, Juan Fernando Dalrymple, 22, a native of Colombia who lives in the county full-time. Dalrymple’s address was blacked out.
Dalrymple explained that he was walking southbound on Vamo Road near the intersection of Assisi Drive when a man approached him, “called his name and then shot him in the right thigh,” the report says.
He added that when he was trying to crawl toward nearby bushes to hide, the shooter approached him, removed his cell phone from his pocket and then fled southbound on Vamo Road, the report adds.
“The victim did not get a good look at the suspect,” the report continues, but Dalrymple said he recognized the suspect’s Southern accent.
Eventually, the report notes, Dalrymple stood up and walked back to his residence.
The report says that the officer “took custody of the victim’s clothes” and turned them over to a crime scene analyst “to be processed.”
The Sheriff’s Office typically issues what it calls “Flash Reports” any time a shooting takes place, the News Leader has learned. The Flash Report on the Vamo Road incident, which was released at 1:39 a.m. on Saturday, June 13, did point out, “At this time there is no outstanding threat to the public.”
It added, “Anyone with information regarding this incident is encouraged to call the Criminal Investigation Section at 941-861-4900 or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers by calling 941-366-TIPS (8477),” or to go online at www.Sarasotacrimestoppers.com.