Crime & Safety
Armed Robbery Leaves Two Dead, One Wounded
Police called to the scene found three people who had been shot and were lying outside a St. Petersburg motel.
An armed robber and his intended victim are both dead today, after the two exchanged gunfire overnight at the Kenwood Village Inn Motel on 34th Street.
Police say that 25-year-old Garrick C. Lucas of St. Petersburg and a second suspect tried to rob six men at gunpoint outside the motel at about 3:30 a.m. Wednesday. The men had been playing cards on a patio at the motel.
Lucas and a second suspect wore masks and tried to rob the men of cash, according to St. Petersburg police.
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One of the men playing cards, 41-year-old Eric T. Carter, drew his own gun, and Lucas and the victim exchanged fire. Both men were struck by bullets, as was a teenager, Micah Cave, 17, who lives at a nearby motel. Cave also had been playing cards.
Cave, who was not armed, was seriously wounded.
Paramedics pronounced Lucas dead on the scene. At the time of their arrival,
officers found Lucas still wearing a mask and a handgun was lying next
to his body.
Both Carter and Cave were transported to a local hospital, where Carter was
subsequently pronounced deceased.
Detectives are still attempting to identify the second suspect, who fled the area
on foot once the gunfire started.
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Those playing cards were engaged in a game of "Tonk" and what has been described by witnesses as low stakes gambling was taken place, police said.
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