St. Pete Murder Suspect Arrested

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — A 24-year-old man faces second-degree murder charges in the Dec. 6 shooting death of a St. Petersburg resident.

According to the St. Petersburg Police Department, Bruce Sanders was brought into custody by the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office Wednesday night. A warrant had been issued for Sanders’ arrest on second-degree murder charges in relation to the Dec. 6 shooting death of Aaron Davis, 25.

According to police, the incident unfolded at the Fountain Court Apartments at 600 40th St. N. the evening of Dec. 6. Davis, police said, had been in a dispute with a relative of Sanders. That dispute escalated into a physical altercation a few nights before the shooting.

Tensions between Davis and Sanders’ relative escalated again on Dec. 6, police wrote in an email to media.

“Sanders, who apparently had been contacted about the dispute, arrived at the apartment complex and approached Davis in the courtyard and immediately fired multiple rounds at him with a handgun at close range,” the email said. “Sanders then left the scene in a vehicle and was later identified by witnesses.”

Davis was taken to Bayfront Health St. Petersburg, but died as a result of his injuries.

Sanders was taken into custody at his girlfriend’s apartment at 1751 55 Terrace S. around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday, police said.

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Booking photo courtesy of the St. Petersburg Police Department