A suspect was arrested for a violent murder in Central Florida.
Homicide detectives from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, working with Bartow Police Department officers, arrested the man responsible for the violent murder of 56-year-old Jeffrey Blevins in Bartow.
According to local law enforcement, Blevins suffered a fatal gunshot injury at the Fountain Place Apartments in Bartow. Blevins’ obvious injuries were entrance and exit wounds on his head caused by a single bullet. Investigators recovered a 9mm casing at the scene.
While speaking with residents at the apartment complex, detectives learned that a resident named David Richard Morris, “had been aggressive toward other tenants.”
Another resident who was interviewed claimed that Morris had a confrontation with Blevins prior to the night he was killed. A search warrant was obtained for Morris’ apartment.
During the search, Morris refused to remain seated and interfered with detectives by yelling at them. The detectives recovered two street signs that Morris illegally possessed. More importantly, they found a 9mm handgun in Morris’ bedroom closet which appeared to have blood on it, as well as a white towel and clothing which also appeared to contain blood stains.
Morris was arrested at that time and booked-in at the Polk County jail for: Resisting and Interfering with a Traffic Control Device (two counts).
With Morris in custody, the investigation continued.
The PCSO’s Forensic Investigators oversaw the testing of the 9mm handgun recovered from Morris’ closet. Shell casing samples from the gun were collected and entered into the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) for comparison with the recovered casing from the murder scene, a match was confirmed, showing that Morris’ firearm was the murder weapon.
With the results of the tests on the firearm, PCSO detectives charged David Richard Morris with 2nd Degree Murder without Premeditation and Discharging a Firearm in a Residential Area.
“I can’t say it enough, my detectives are the absolute best at what they do, and they proved it again,” said Sheriff Grady Judd. “There was no witness and no video that immediately revealed the murderer. This was old-fashioned detective work of following the evidence and leads. It was a great collaborative effort between the Polk County Sheriff’s Office and Bartow Police Department.”
“Thanks to the hard work and dedication of the detectives in the case, a dangerous subject was taken off the streets,” said Police Chief Stephen Walker. “While the investigation continues, we are very proud of the work that the officers and detectives have done in this case. We have an excellent, collaborative relationship with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. Together, we are keeping Bartow and Polk County a safe place to live, work, and visit.”
