5 arrested for 2016 Club Blu mass shooting that killed 2, injured at least 14 others

Five people have been arrested in connection to a 2016 mass shooting outside a nightclub in Fort Myers that killed two and injured at least 14.

According to the State Attorney’s Office, Tajze Battle, Derrick Church, Don Loggins, Demetrius O’Neal and Kierra Russ each face two counts of second-degree murder, which is punishable by life in prison, and one count each of conspiracy to commit murder, a second-degree felony.

“Let me assure you, today is just the beginning. I want to repeat that today is just the beginning,” FMPD Chief Derrick Diggs said during the press conference. “I want to thank the courageous people that came forward.”

“The tips that came in to Crime Stoppers were critical to arresting two of the subjects involved in this shooting,” Sheriff Carmine Marceno said during the press conference.

The suspects made their first appearance in court Thursday morning. Bond was set at $750,000 for each. Their next court appearances were set for Jan. 11.

Prosecutors requested separate housing for each suspect and it was granted.

Shortly after midnight on July 25, 2016, shots were fired outside a teen party at Club Blu at 3580 Evans Ave., killing Sean Archilles, 14, and Stef’an Strawder, 18, and injuring at least 14 others.

The State Attorney’s Office, FBI, Fort Myers Police Department and the Lee County Sheriff’s Office held a joint press conference Wednesday afternoon to announce the arrests. Watch in the player below or click here.

Church, O’Neal and Battle were identified as persons of interest shortly after the shooting.

They were considered persons of interest after authorities received a call about two suspicious vehicles in the area of the shooting scene, the sheriff’s office said at the time.

The three were arrested after being seen several blocks from the scene helping an injured person out of a car near the Residence Condominiums complex. A Fort Myers Police Department officer saw a white Chevy sedan, which matched the description, and attempted to pull it over, but the car fled.

Authorities were able to bring the chase to an end near Luckett Road and Ortiz Avenue, where two people attempted to run from the car. After Church, who was driving the white Chevy, accelerated toward the deputy, he fired his handgun, shooting Church in the abdomen.

Church was treated and released from the hospital and placed under arrest for aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and fleeing and eluding. O’Neal and Battle were later found and arrested on those charges, but not for Club Blu.

People nearby still remember the night of the shooting vividly.

“We seen lights everywhere, it was like lit up like Christmas,” said Joe Simmons, a nearby business owner. “To be honest with you, in a situation like this, nobody wins. The whole community lost.”

In the years following, no arrests had been made.

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office and Fort Myers Police Department along with state and federal officials on July 21, announced “Operation Club Blu” and a $20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of suspects in the 2016 Club Blu shooting.

Law enforcement continues to seek evidence in the case and seeks information on three firearms. Tips can be called into the State Attorney’s Office at 1-833-987-2611.

“If you recognize any of these firearms, please give us a call,” Diggs said.

In December 2017 settlements were reached in 10 lawsuits filed on behalf of Club Blu shooting victims. The suits claimed the plaza and the property management company where the shooting took place didn’t do enough to prevent the shooting or protect the teens at the club that night. The amounts of the settlements are confidential.

The club’s former manager said there were eight unarmed security guards at Club Blu during the event, as well as two armed guards in the parking lot and another armed guard at the door.

THE VICTIMS

Stef’an Strawder, an 18-year-old star basketball player for Lehigh Senior High School, and 14-year-old Sean Archilles, a student at Royal Palm Exceptional School, were the two teens killed.

The shooting happened around 12:30 a.m. at Club Blu, 3580 Evans Ave. Victims as young as 12 and as old as 27 were taken to Lee Memorial Hospital. The eldest victim was a security guard. Another security guard was injured in the shooting.

Family and friends of Achilles and Strawder are breathing a sigh of relief.

“We are very grateful that someone has followed through with it and just for the justice,” said Dawn McNew, Strawder’s former coach a Lehigh Senior High School.

“It is kind of like a piece of closure,” Joe Simmons said.

It’s a day for rejoicing that those responsible for shooting and killing two teens in the community are now behind bars, but it also reopens painful wounds, as people remember the two young lives cut short.

Simmons says Archilles would visit his custom printing shop all the time.

“He used to always beg me like, ‘Bro, can you please make me one shirt; I’m wearing it to school tomorrow,” Simmons explained. “When I heard it was him it was kind of like, ‘Man, that was my little buddy.’”

Coach McNew says Strawder was a star at their school.

“He dedicated a lot of his life to the sport of basketball and was just a phenomenal player and was just a blessing to coach,” McNew said.

Even with people paying the price for the murders, nothing can fill the void of two bright, talented futures lost.

“You kind of want to sit back and watch and see how they were going to grow, and none of us have a chance to see that,” Simmons said.

Angela McClary, the president of Parents of Murdered Children, says this is a step that gives the community hope.

“It’s just the beginning,” McClary said. “There’s a whole lot behind that. We want to see the criminals put behind bars and sentenced for their crime, not just arrested.”

In honor of one of the victims, the Stef’an Strawder Showcase was created and some of the best basketball talent in Southwest Florida take to the court annually to honor the life of a teenager taken too soon. It’s a yearly event remembering the young high school basketball star, whose life was lost to violence.

We spoke with Strawder’s mother before the news conference, and she had not heard the news of the arrests when we spoke with her.

We also spoke to one of Strawder’s friends after she found out about the arrests. She told us she cried tears of joy. She never thought this day would come, but she says it’s a great end to 2020.

If you have any information on the weapons, locations, or events of that night, there are two numbers you can call. Tips can be provided to the State Attorney’s Office Cold Case Homicide Unit Tip Line: 1-833-987-2611 as well as Crime Stoppers: 1-800-780-TIPS.