Arrest Made in Sarasota Shooting Death

The Sarasota Police Department has announced an arrest in a Monday homicide.

According to the agency, Diandrew L. Clarkson, 20, of Tampa faces murder charges following the incident.

Daniel T. Ortiz, 44, of Sarasota was the victim in the case.

The investigation kicked off Monday around 7 p.m. when police responded to a car accident in the 1500 block of 25th Street. When officers approached the car, they discovered that its driver, Ortiz, was suffering from a gunshot wound. He was taken to Sarasota Memorial Hospital where he later died.

Clarkson’s arrest was announced Wednesday afternoon. He was brought into custody with help from the U.S. Marshals Florida Regional Fugitive Taskforce and the Tampa Police Department.

Police say witnessed told them Ortiz and Clarkson were involved in a dispute over the sale of drugs. During the argument, Clarkson is accused of pulling out a gun and firing a shot into Ortiz’s car.

Ortiz, and email to media from the department said, drove a few hundred feet away from the incident before his car crashed into a tree near the intersection of Orange Avenue and 25th Street.

Clarkson is being booked into the Hillsborough County Jail, police said.

Booking photo courtesy of the Sarasota Police Department