ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (CW44 News At 10) – A man suspected of double-homicide was arrested in St. Pete following a four hour standoff at a motel.
The bodies of Jerome Clark and Larrisha Williams were found early morning on Wednesday, February 10, 2021. Since then, detectives worked tirelessly to locate the suspected gunman in the double-homicide. With the help of several tips from the community, authorities say they were able to identify the suspect as 35-year-old Andre M. Watkins.
Credit: SPPD | CW44 News At 10
On Friday afternoon just after 3:30pm, St. Petersburg Police received a tip that Watkins was in a room at the Bayway Inn on 34th Street South.
Police promptly evacuated the motel, closed 34th Street South in both directions, and brought in the SWAT team to try to take the suspect into custody safely. After four hours, the suspect was arrested without incident to the cheers of a large crowd gathered near the scene.
Andre Watkins is charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Jerome Clark DOB 02/08/1998 and Larrisha Williams DOB 10/07/1993. They were found shot to death in a car in the 1400 block of 34th St. S.
CW44 News At 10 will provide further updates as they are made available.