Michael Keetley, a former ice cream truck driver, was found guilty on all counts in the murder trial held on Friday, March 24th, 2023.
The Ice Cream Man Case
In the early morning of Thanksgiving in 2010, 6 men were brutally shot by Michael Keetley on the front porch of a Ruskin Home at Ocean Mist court.
Keetley pulled up in his minivan, came out of his vehicle, and asked for “Creeper,” a man only some knew about since he lived a few blocks from their house. He wore a sheriff’s uniform and had a shotgun or rifle.
He then proceeded to ask for their Identification, after which he shot them one by one. Out of the six victims, only 4 of them survived.
According to the defendant, Michael Keetley had been robbed and shot in the same year when the incident occurred. Still, when the police could not find the culprit, he took matters into his own hands to seek revenge and started conducting his investigation.
Trial held after 12 years
The trial was held on March 24th, 2023, beginning at 4 PM and going on till 9 PM before it was put on hold until the next working day, Monday. During the weekend, the jurors were not allowed to speak about the trial to anyone.
They then reported to the court on Monday, when the trial began at 8:30 AM. It then went on till 5:30 in the evening and continued on Tuesday, when it took only a couple more hours to finish. Keetley’s final sentencing is scheduled for May 26th, 2023.
The trial had been held before, but the jury could not reach a verdict. It became Hillsborough County’s longest-standing criminal case.
Michael Keetley Found Guilty
After two trials, which lasted for about 13 hours over three days, the jurors found Michael Keetley guilty of the shooting of 6 men, which resulted in the death of two of them.
He was 39 at the time of his arrest and has been in jail since, awaiting his trial. He is 52 now. The survivors identified him as the man who pulled up in a minivan outside one of their homes.
Michael Keetley was found guilty on all charges of murder after being accused of killing two brothers, Juan and Sergio Guitron, on Thanksgiving in 2010.
The State attorney Suzy Lopez stated how it was the day of the victims and their families who suffered a great loss, and their office hoped and prayed that today’s verdict might be able to bring closure to all the families who had to go through this nightmare for the last 12 years.
