Arrest Made in Pedestrian Overpass Murder

The St. Petersburg Police Department has made an arrest in an October shooting that left a teenage boy dead.

Police say David Nathan Garrett, 16, was charged with first-degree murder in connection with the Oct. 11 shooting death of Donald J. Avery, 17, on the 34th Street South pedestrian overpass.

Garrett was picked up Monday on an outstanding warrant in the case at La Belle High School, an email to media from the department stated. Garrett’s family moved to La Belle shortly after the shooting.

Police learned about the shooting around 2:40 a.m. Oct. 11 when a passerby heard a gunshot on the overpass. The man went to investigate and found a person on the ground with a gunshot wound to the upper body, the email stated. The passerby then called 911.

Avery was taken to Bayfront Hospital, but was pronounced dead from his wounds.

“During the subsequent investigation, detectives determined that Avery met Garrett at the overpass to conduct a drug transaction,” the email stated. “During their interaction it is believed that Garrett produced a handgun and shot Avery multiple times.”

Following Garrett’s arrest, police say his sister Karissa Smock, 21, called a witness in the case and threatened to kill him.

Garrett was charged with first-degree murder. Smock now faces tampering with a witness charges, police say.

Photo credit: David Garrett and Karissa Smock courtesy of the St. Petersburg Police Department

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