Crime & Safety

Florida Murder Suspect Arrested in Lithonia

U.S. Marshals arrested Eddie Jonathan Todd Walker outside of Atlanta, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.

The suspect in a deadly shooting in Largo, Florida this past spring has been arrested in Lithonia, authorities said Thursday.

Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri announced Eddie Jonathan Todd Walker, 24, was arrested around 11 a.m. Thursday (Aug. 23) on a first-degree murder charge by the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force in Lithonia.

Authorities say Walker, 24, is responsible for the  of Terrence Bernar Thomas, 38, on Patterson Street in Largo. Authorities described the incident as a drug deal gone wrong.

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Walker is being held at the DeKalb County Jail. Pinellas County Sheriff's deputies are currently interviewing him in Georgia, Gualtieri said in a news conference late Thursday afternoon.

Authorities offered a for Walker's arrest at a press conference Aug. 13.  Gualtieri said that they received about five tips from the public, but that information did not lead to Walker's arrest.

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Instead the sheriff's office traced Walker's whereabouts using electronic surveillance. Authorities say Walker went from Clearwater to Orlando to the Atlanta area.

Gualtieri did not want to give details on how they were able to find Walker, but he did say people tend to use cellular communication devices. The sheriff said they have recovered a 9 mm gun, which he said was allegedly used in the April 5 shooting death. Investigators have recovered one shell casing, also, Gualtieri said.

With this case, Gualtieri said his office has 100 percent closure in homicides for 2011 and 2012.

The investigation is still open, however. Authorities are trying to determine who may have harbored Walker as a fugitive, Gualtieri said.

This article first appeared on Largo Patch.


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