Seminole Man Accused Of Shooting Told Detectives He Was Contract Assassin For Government

SEMINOLE, FL — Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said a "true public safety nightmare" was averted and a man accused of murder is off the streets thanks to science and "good, old-fashioned police work."

Pinellas sheriff's detectives arrested Elijah Iziah Dera’us McCray, 20, of 8305 76th Ave. N., Seminole, after they said he went on a shooting spree that left one man dead.

When he was arrested Thursday, he told detectives he was a contract assassin who worked for the government. Gualtieri said McCray also claimed he had a right to own a firearm even though he was previously charged with felonies and is prohibited by law to own a weapon.

According to detectives, at 9:52 p.m. Oct. 7, deputies responded to a report of shots fired at the Bayou Courtyard apartments at 7524 83 83rd St. North in Seminole and found a 40-year-old man who had been shot with a 9 mm handgun.

The man told deputies he was sitting in the apartment complex courtyard by the pool, smoking a cigarette, "just minding his own business," when he saw a man he didn't know come around the corner carrying a gun with a laser sight on it.

The stranger began firing at the 40-year-old man who was shot several times. He was taken to the hospital for treatment; his injuries were not life-threatening. The shooter fled the scene before deputies arrived.

Deputies recovered a number of 9 mm shell casings made by various manufacturers from the crime scene. The sheriff's office did not release the victim's name.

Then, on Wednesday at 8:36 p.m., deputies were called to the 8400 block of 75th Street North, just a few blocks away from the first shooting in Seminole, for another report of shots fired.

There they found 55-year-old Eddie Hoskins Jr., a veteran who also lived at the Bayou Courtyard apartments, shot multiple times. He was pronounced dead at the scene. He was walking his Chihuahua on a leash when he was gunned down. Deputies found the little dog unharmed nearby.

A resident driving by at the time of the shooting happened to catch a video of a Lexus with a headlight out on his dashboard camera. A home security camera also captured a video showing a Lexus with one headlight speeding away.

With the help of the videos and tips from neighbors, detectives were able to trace Lexus to McCray's address and set up surveillance on the home.

Around 1 p.m. Thursday, McCray walked out and began to run when he saw detectives. He was promptly taken into custody.

When detectives searching his home, they found the 9 mm handgun with the laser sight under the pillow on McCray's bed. They also retrieved ammunition that matched the casings found at the two shootings and used targets in his bedroom.

Gualtieri said McCray's aunt and brother lived in the same home. The family told the sheriff's office that McCray has no history of mental illness.

Ironically, Hoskins, a veteran, and the first man who was shot were acquainted and Hoskins went to his apartment after the first shooting to help the man clean up, Gualtieri said.

Gualtieri said he had a knot in his stomach after learning of the second random shooting with ammunition that matched the first.

Most homicides that occur in Pinellas County and, really, everywhere for that matter, are not random events, they aren't random shootings," the sheriff said. "Most of the time there's some nexus between the shooter and the victim."

To have two random shootings occur within a week in Pinellas County is rare, he said.

"I can't think of the last time in Pinellas County when average citizens were in peril because of random shootings. I could see how it was unfolding and the path it was on," Gualtieri said at a news conference Thursday.

"We really stopped what could have been Seminole Heights 2.0," he said, referring to the serial shootings that occurred in the Seminole Heights neighborhood of Tampa in October and November 2017 that left four people dead.

"I'm very grateful we were able to get this guy off the street before there were more shootings," he said. "This guy could still be out there with a gun under his pillow deciding who to randomly shoot next."

Gualtieri said he believes that, if McCray hadn't been arrested so quickly, he would have continued randomly shooting people.

“This was a true public safety nightmare that was getting ready to unfold, but thanks to good, old-fashioned police work, technology, science and good partnerships and cooperation through information between citizens and law enforcement, a murderer is off the street," he said.

Gualtieri said McCray has an extensive juvenile record including burglary, grand theft, improper exhibition of a firearm and assault with a weapon.

McCray has been charge with murder in the first degree and two counts of delinquent in possession of a firearm. He's being held in the Pinellas County Jail without bail.