Tampa police say he has prior felony convictions and was out of jail on bond when the murders happened.

TAMPA – Police have arrested a man in connection with the Oct. 31 shooting deaths of a Tampa man and woman, the Tampa Police Department said.

Tyrail Raheem Kendrick, 26, of Tampa, was charged with two counts of Murder in the First Degree (Premeditated – Firearm) and one count each of Robbery with a Firearm and Felon in Possession of a Firearm. Police said Kendrick has has several prior felony convictions with the most recent being April 14, 2016 for Burglary of a Dwelling. He was also out of jail on bond, and awaiting trial fora charge of Felon in Possession of a Firearm.

The latest charges arose out of the Oct. 31 shooting deaths of a man and a woman in the 1700 block of W Walnut Street.

Police said they were called to the address about 7:14 a.m. for a call about a shooting. When they arrived, they found a man dead outside the front door of the home with multiple gunshots to his upper body. The front door was open and officers found a woman with a gunshot wound lying several feet inside the home. She was taken to St Joseph’s Hospital where she died from her injury.

Officers said they spoke with a woman who was in the home when the shooting happened. She told police she was asleep but woke up when she heard a loud noise. She opened the front door of the residence to investigate as the man and woman were trying to run into the house.

Upon reaching the threshold of the door, one screamed that they were being robbed. The witness saw a man later identified as Kendrick point a firearm towards them, and fire multiple times. She saw the man flee towards Walnut Street on a bicycle.

Police said they also talked to a neighbor who was on her front porch when she heard about four loud bangs that she believed to be gunshots. A few seconds later, she saw two men on bicycles riding eastbound on Spruce Street away from where she believed the gunshots to be coming from. The description of one of the men matched the description the first witness had given of Kendrick.

Officers said they found a third witness who said he had spoken to Kendrick and another person, described as about 17 years old, before the shootings. The witness told them Kendrick had produced a firearm from his waistband and said they were looking to “do a lick.” Kendrick asked for the witness’ help, but he refused.

Tampa Police | Crime | Murder | Arrests | Tampabay News | News Tampa

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