Man found guilty of killing Tampa security guard in 2012

Author: the associated press
Published:
MGN

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – A Hillsborough County jury has convicted a 19-year-old man of fatally shooting a private security guard at a Tampa apartment complex in 2012.

Local media outlets report the jury found Larry Brown guilty Monday of first-degree murder in connection with the slaying of 38-year-old Michael Valentin in November 2012.

Prosecutors said Brown rode his bicycle up to Valentin, greeted him and then shot him before failing to pry Valentin’s gun from its holster and running away. Brown abandoned the bicycle, which had his DNA.

The jury found Brown not guilty of attempting to rob the guard’s gun but convicted him of stealing a firearm from his mother before the shooting.

Because Brown was a juvenile at the time of the slaying, he isn’t eligible for an automatic life prison sentence.

Copyright ©2024 Fort Myers Broadcasting. All rights reserved.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without prior written consent.