Earlier this year, two local mothers were shot and killed days apart in St. Petersburg. Authorities accused the 21-year-old Tyron Jackasal, who is now a man is behind bars, of shooting and killing the two in separate incidents as he mistook them for his target, Tampa Bay Times reported.
According to police, Jackasal killed K’Mia Simmons on March 30 as she was carrying her 1-year-old child and her 2-year-old was in the backseat, where a second bullet narrowly missed the toddler. However, the April 4 murder of Emily Grot remained unsolved – until Wednesday. She was shot in the vicinity of Woodland Park.
Tyron Jackasal And His Victim K’mia Simmons (Photo: The Gabber Newspaper)
The Victims Were Not His Intended Target
On April 5, Jackasal was already in jail on a robbery charge before being charged with Simmons’ murder. He is now additionally charged with second-degree murder in the killing of Grot. According to the authorities, both women were killed while they were in vehicles, and they do not believe that Grot or Simmons were the intended victims of the shooting.
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According to arrest documents, the investigation once again led detectives to Jackasal. In Grot’s death, he now faces a charge of second-degree murder. This comes on top of a second-degree murder charge in Simmons’ death and an attempted murder charge in the same incident that killed Grot.
The investigation states Grot’s body was shot with a 9mm handgun. Detectives swabbed several 9mm bullet shells recovered in the parking lot. The DNA profile of the sample matched Jackasal’s.
He Had A Dispute With Simmons’ Partner
Detectives believe the shootings are unrelated, except for the person accused of carrying them out, according to police spokeswoman Ken Knight. However, the similarities are obvious. Grot, 35, and Simmons, 21, were both moms of two children when they were shot in their vehicles.
His intended victim was Parise Lovett Jr., the father of one of Simmons’ daughters, according to authorities. Lovett was also in the vehicle during the shooting and fled the scene. When police announced Jackasal’s arrest in April for Simmons’ death, they reported that Lovett and Jackasal had a conflict over a stolen necklace. Lovett allegedly came forward in April with the information needed for police to make an arrest, ABC Action News reported.
According to a news report issued by police on Thursday, Jackasal fired rounds into the Wildwood Park parking lot during an informal gathering with several individuals. Grot was sitting in her car when she was hit. At the time, a 17-year-old girl and a man were also shot.
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