Tweet
3 Dead In Auburndale Bar Shooting
TBO Staff Report Published: May 24 2008
AUBURNDALE, FL - Two members of a Tampa Bay area DJ group named "Poison Dart" and one associate were killed in an early morning shooting Saturday at a bar in Auburndale, the Polk sheriff's office reported.
The victims were identified as Antone Geargo Neely, 29, of Tampa and Michael F. Rattigan, 35, of Riverview. Kevin Jordache Webster, 29, of Deltona, was an associate of the group's members.
"This is a brutal murder scene," Judd said. "It appears this had something to do with the DJs, as they were the only victims we know of."
No suspect information has been released, and Judd encouraged residents and patrons of the bar to contact the sheriff's office.
"Someone knows the name of who did this, and we need that name," said Judd, who added he was confident that deputies will find the shooter or shooters.
Poison Dart's Web site and the MySpace pages of its members describe them as "Reggae/Hip-Hop/Soca" performers.
Rattigan went by the stage name of "Chris Rock" and Neely went by the stage name "Tony Montana," Judd said. Neely had five children, said his mother-in-law Diane Donaldson of Tampa. "He is loving. He is kind. He is good. Everybody knows him. My heart is gone."
The shooting, initially reported as a noise disturbance, happened at 2:40 a.m. at The Thunderbird Bar, 723 New Hope St., according to the sheriff's office.
Judd said the one-story bar, located in an older residential neighborhood, was full to capacity, with as many 300 people on hand. Deputies interviewed many of them after the shooting, Judd said. Neely and Webster died at the scene, despite life-saving efforts by sheriff's deputies, the sheriff's office said.Rattigan was taken to Lakeland Regional Medical center and later died, the sheriff's office said.
Poison Dart's Web site lists its business address as 11501 N. Nebraska Ave., off Fowler Avenue near the University of South Florida campus.
The storefront, its front window plastered with fliers for the group, is part of a strip shopping center that includes a barber shop, Upper Cuts, and a Caribbean grocery store that group members patronized regularly, according to shop owners who did not wish to give their names.
One Upper Cuts employee said Poison Dart appeared at The Thunderbird every Friday night and that last week there had been some kind of altercation.
"I asked Tony yesterday what was going on with him," he said. "He had an exchange with some guys over there a week before."
A manager at Jerk Hut Island Grille on Fowler said group members ate there almost every day and performed at the grille every Saturday night.
The group members had a typical laid-back Caribbean style and drew big crowds, said the manager.
Source: Tampa Tribune
TBO Staff Report Published: May 24 2008
AUBURNDALE, FL - Two members of a Tampa Bay area DJ group named "Poison Dart" and one associate were killed in an early morning shooting Saturday at a bar in Auburndale, the Polk sheriff's office reported.
The victims were identified as Antone Geargo Neely, 29, of Tampa and Michael F. Rattigan, 35, of Riverview. Kevin Jordache Webster, 29, of Deltona, was an associate of the group's members.
"This is a brutal murder scene," Judd said. "It appears this had something to do with the DJs, as they were the only victims we know of."
No suspect information has been released, and Judd encouraged residents and patrons of the bar to contact the sheriff's office.
"Someone knows the name of who did this, and we need that name," said Judd, who added he was confident that deputies will find the shooter or shooters.
Poison Dart's Web site and the MySpace pages of its members describe them as "Reggae/Hip-Hop/Soca" performers.
Rattigan went by the stage name of "Chris Rock" and Neely went by the stage name "Tony Montana," Judd said. Neely had five children, said his mother-in-law Diane Donaldson of Tampa. "He is loving. He is kind. He is good. Everybody knows him. My heart is gone."
The shooting, initially reported as a noise disturbance, happened at 2:40 a.m. at The Thunderbird Bar, 723 New Hope St., according to the sheriff's office.
Judd said the one-story bar, located in an older residential neighborhood, was full to capacity, with as many 300 people on hand. Deputies interviewed many of them after the shooting, Judd said. Neely and Webster died at the scene, despite life-saving efforts by sheriff's deputies, the sheriff's office said.Rattigan was taken to Lakeland Regional Medical center and later died, the sheriff's office said.
Poison Dart's Web site lists its business address as 11501 N. Nebraska Ave., off Fowler Avenue near the University of South Florida campus.
The storefront, its front window plastered with fliers for the group, is part of a strip shopping center that includes a barber shop, Upper Cuts, and a Caribbean grocery store that group members patronized regularly, according to shop owners who did not wish to give their names.
One Upper Cuts employee said Poison Dart appeared at The Thunderbird every Friday night and that last week there had been some kind of altercation.
"I asked Tony yesterday what was going on with him," he said. "He had an exchange with some guys over there a week before."
A manager at Jerk Hut Island Grille on Fowler said group members ate there almost every day and performed at the grille every Saturday night.
The group members had a typical laid-back Caribbean style and drew big crowds, said the manager.
Source: Tampa Tribune
Davion Parson
Comment