A Look at Murders in Gulfport the Past 10 Years

According to the , three murders have taken place in the city in since 2000. "We've had a lot more close calls. We've just been really lucky over the past 10 years," Sgt. Robert Burkhart said.

Sgt. Robert Burkhart says of the three, a 2001 fatal carjacking in the McDonald's parking lot caught the most attention from the media. The case that received the least amount of media attention was a shooting at a Gulfport home on November 7, 2009. The suspect in that case is facing a murder retrial this week.

Gulfport Patch was the only media present at opening statements of this week's murder retrial. Sgt. Burkhart says the reason for lack of coverage in this case is because, “This was not a who done it murder, we had it solved that night. Usually the ones that get a lot of press are who done it murders."

2009

This week Gulfport resident Riley Bryan, 69, is facing a first-degree murder retrial. According to the original news release from the  Bryan shot and killed his roommate Donald Price, 52, on November 7, 2009. A trial took place this spring, but the jury could not reach a verdict. The retrial began on Tuesday May 24, 2011 at the Pinellas Criminal Justice Center, 14250 49th St. N, Clearwater. During opening arguments State Attorney Della Connolly told the jury Bryan fired three shots that night, one "fired within 12 inches of the victim." Defense Attorney Amanda Sellers said Bryan was acting in self-defense, "Mr. Bryan was absolutely in fear that night when he pulled the trigger, the evidence will show that Mr. Price stormed through that front door." Riley Bryan is expected to testify on Thursday May 26, 2011, during the retrial.

Update: On May 27, 2011, Riley Bryan was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

2003

In March, 2003, James R. Hubbard, 61, shot Jeffrey Alan Bossert, 55, in the middle of the day, in front of a coffee shop on Beach Blvd. According to the St. Petersburg Times article, the men got into an argument around 3 p.m. It escalated and officials say Hubbard shot Bossert twice in the head. Sgt. Robert Burkhart says the case was never resolved in court because Hubbard died awaiting trial in the Pinellas County Jail.

2001

On May 10, 2001, Deborah Fleischner, 50, was shot and killed during a carjacking at the McDonalds restaurant in Gulfport. According to the Gulfport Police Department website, "Fleischner resisted the robber's attacks, getting up and fighting with him each of three times that he threw her to the ground while trying to steal her car and her purse. After the third time, the man shot her in the chest at point blank range, killing her instantly. The stolen car was later recovered in Clearwater, and a fingerprint found on the car's door frame was matched to 21-year-old Christopher Lee Wehland, who had stolen the car to use in the commission of robberies in St. Petersburg and Pinellas Park." 

About two weeks after the shooting, Christopher Wehland was arrested and charged with first-degree murder.

Sgt. Robert Burkhart says that was a high profile case. “I remember, when we took him to jail. He came here to do the interview, there were reporters in the trees outside the police department. We don’t do perp walks, so to get a picture of him in hand cuffs the reporters were climbing the trees, hiding in the trees to get pictures of him. . .  There was so much press . . . when we were leaving (the department), they switched everything up . . . we had a dummy car go out the east gate, nobody knew what car he was in.”

In January 2004, Christopher Wehland was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Note: Elizabeth K. Evans, 44, and her friend Gerald B. Taylor Jr., 43, were shot and killed in her condo in Gulfport in December 2008. Patrick A. Evans is charged with 2 counts of first-degree murder. Sgt. Robert Burkhart says although the murders happened in Gulfport, the address is part of unincorporated Pinellas County. The case is being handeled by the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.