Two men find themselves in custody following a daring mid-week shootout and subsequent police chase in the streets of St. Petersburg. The St. Petersburg Police Department apprehended Keon Dawson, 30, and Raymond Adams, 36, for allegedly opening fire on another man who was disembarking from his vehicle. FOX 13 News reports that the incident occurred on the 220 block of 14th Ave. North just before 4:45 p.m. Wednesday, with the suspects then fleeing in a black Nissan Altima, sans license plate.
While trying to intercept the vehicle, police officers found themselves leading a chase that ended when the suspects attempted to escape on foot at 5th Avenue North and 40th Street North. Being discovered in the backseat of the abandoned vehicle, an assault rifle and a nearby handgun were both confiscated by authorities. WTSP details that Dawson and Adams knew the victim and were embroiled in a dispute, escalating to the violent confrontation witnessed.
Both suspects now face a spate of charges, including attempted murder, criminal mischief, and being felons in possession of a firearm. WFLA adds to the list of charges for Dawson, citing attempted murder in the first degree, throwing a deadly missile, two counts of criminal mischief, possessing a firearm as a felon, leaving the scene of a crash involving property damage, operating an unregistered motor vehicle, resisting an officer without violence, and fleeing and eluding. Adams's charges mirror a similar severity, with the addition of discharging a firearm from a vehicle.
Despite the violent nature of the altercation, the intended victim emerged from the ordeal without physical harm, possessing a car now pockmarked with bullet holes as a harrowing token of the encounter. Police are continuing their investigation into the background of the dispute that motivated such reckless abandon.
