He met the dead man to buy marijuana, Hillsborough deputies said.

TAMPA – A Seffner man has been charged with the murder of a man who was going to sell him marijuana, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said.

Paul Dean McCourt, 21, was charged with one count each of First Degree Murder and Robbery with a Firearm. The name of the deceased man was not available.

About 10:47 p.m. Monday (Jan. 28), a deputy said he saw a minivan stopped in the eastbound travel lanes of Woodberry Road, just east of Essex Road, in Tampa. The vehicle was in park with the engine running and revving.

The deputy said he found an unconscious man with gunshot wounds in his upper body in the driver’s seat. The deputy got him out of the van and started CPR until he was taken to Tampa General Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

After interviewing friends of the dead man, detectives said they learned that he was making a drug deal at the time of the shooting. McCourt met the man to buy marijuana. In the process of the transaction, McCourt shot the man before fleeing from the van.

McCourt was arrested and booked into Orient Road Jail on Tuesday (Jan. 29) on a separate charge. Since then, the murder and armed robbery charges have been added.

Hillsborough Sheriff | Crime | Murder | Tampabay News

Hillsborough Sheriff | Crime | Murder | Tampabay News