In Clearwater, a 17-year-old boy is charged with second-degree murder for the deadly night carjacking.
According to a Clearwater Police Department news release, Jarnalen Dreshaw Coleman, a Dade City teenager, arranged to meet Louise Ornduff and her son in a Bank of America parking lot for the possible sale of a Nissan Rogue, the meeting happened around 8 p.m. Monday, Oct. 16, at the bank at Belcher and Belleair roads. But instead of a handover of cash for the car, the meeting turned deadly.
Coleman and his alleged co-conspirator, 18-year-old Lasupta Singletary, were armed and demanded the keys to Ornduff’s Hyundai Veloster that her son drove to the bank.
They were successful in stealing the Veloster but as they drove off.
In a WFTS report:
Ornduff fired a shot that hit Singletary. Coleman drove the stolen vehicle to an area hospital in an attempt to help Singletary, but he later died.
Doctors at Mease Countryside Hospital pronounced him dead.
Criminal defense attorney Anthony Rickman, who was not involved in the case, told WTVT that in the aftermath of the shooting, investigators would be “looking at surveillance videos” and “talking to witnesses to see when that shot was fired” in order to “determine if self-defense is actually a valid defense here.”
It appears that authorities did deem the incident a justified shooting, as Coleman, who – along with Singleton – had a prior criminal history, was charged with second-degree felony murder and armed robbery. The murder charge was due to the fact that he was committing a felony while Singleton was killed.
Clearwater PD Deputy Chief Eric Gandy told WFTS, “Based on their history, which you can see before you, and the fact they were engaged in an armed robbery, leads something to…to their character I would say.”
One social media user commented on Facebook, Those who have read Ornduff’s story applauded the mother for protecting herself and her son. “She was right in what she did and had to do I would have done the same thing had I been in her shoes and the police and courts should back her up and not take the defense of these criminals, help the police clean up the streets against crime.”
Another wrote, “Everyone knows that the relatives of those two will say that they were good boys. They will probably say that they needed to steal the car to sell it to afford to live. Just wait until the b.s. starts people. I personally think that they both got what they deserved. Too bad for them.”
Yet another added, “People are tired of working hard and getting robbed by punks. If I were these punks I’d get a job you live longer. A lot of honest citizens are ready to shoot back including me,”
“Indeed, this story would have ended much differently if Ornduff had not been prepared to defend herself and her son. There’s no denying that it can be dangerous to meet up with a stranger for the sale of a car or other property. You should always be prepared to defend yourself in the event that trouble transpires.”
Watch it here: Youtube/ABCActionNews & Youtube/WFLANewsChannel8
Sources: Taphaps, Abcactionnews, Twoeggz