A 28-year-old Fort Pierce man has been charged with murder in connection with one of the two July Fourth weekend shootings, said police officials.
Cornelius Ivory was served an arrest warrant Aug. 20 while he was in the St. Lucie County Jail on unrelated charges after he was identified as the accused shooter in the July 5 homicide, Fort Pierce police Maj. Michael Santiago told TCPalm on Aug. 21.
Ivory was charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a felon, Santiago said.
The fatal shooting occurred about 3:45 a.m. July 5 in the 300 block of South 14th Street, according to a Fort Pierce police incident report summary.
Detectives learned the incident started at a nightclub in Fort Pierce with Ivory’s inappropriate behavior toward a 28-year-old woman, who pushed away his advances, Santiago said.
She was with Lawrence Harris, Jr., of Fort Pierce, who knew Ivory because the two grew up in the same neighborhood and knew each other from childhood, Santiago said.
Ivory hadn’t been in the area for several years, because he had been incarcerated for about six years, Santiago said, but he was released either last year or earlier this year.
They left the club and went to the Waffle House on Okeechobee Road, where a verbal argument started until everybody decided to get in their vehicles to leave and go their own ways, Santiago said.
However, Ivory found out where Harris and the woman lived and waited in the area for them to arrive home, Santiago said. Ivory is accused of opening fire and then running from the area.
When officers arrived, they found Harris and the woman suffering from apparent gunshot wounds, according to the police incident summary report. The woman sustained a non-life-threatening injury to her hand, and Harris was taken to a local hospital for treatment with multiple gunshot wounds.
Harris was intubated and surviving on a ventilator on the morning of July 7, but he died by that afternoon, Santiago said. The woman, who had sustained a gunshot wound to her hand, was treated and released.
Detectives were able to identify Ivory thanks to witness statements and cooperation from the woman, Santiago said. They used databases and search warrants, including one in Palm Bay, to develop enough probable cause to serve him with an arrest warrant, and he already was in jail for violation of probation for possession of a firearm by a felon.
Ivory, who had been in the St. Lucie County Jail since July 23 for violation of probation, remained there on Aug. 21 without bail, Santiago said.
Prior arrest history
In January 2015, Ivory was arrested on charges of attempted first-degree murder in connection with gunfire into a group of people at a 5-year-old’s birthday party at a house on Avenue K in December 2014.
Ivory fired five bullets as he bicycled past the house where 10 children, ages 3 to 5, and several others gathered near the doorway. One 17-year-old party-goer was injured.
Ivory, who was then 16, was charged as an adult. His case was settled in October when he pleaded no contest to a reduced charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He was ruled guilty, put on probation and sentenced to one year in prison, but with credit for the 325 days he had already been jailed awaiting trial.
In 2017, Ivory was one of eight indicted at the federal level as part of a six-month St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office investigation that followed a drug bust where more than 50 guns and a variety of drugs were seized.
Update on the second July Fourth weekend shooting
A second shooting occurred on this year’s July Fourth weekend, just before 5 a.m. July 4 in the 2500 block of Avenue I, according to a police incident report summary.
Officers arrived and found a man suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, according to the report. They helped the man until St. Lucie County Fire Rescue crews arrived and took him to a local hospital for treatment.
Officers learned the man had been riding a bicycle with a woman when shots were fired near North 27th Street and Avenue G, according to the report. The man ran from the scene on foot before he collapsed at a nearby business on Avenue I.
Officers found evidence of the shooting, including a blood trail extending from the area of North 27th Street and Avenue G to where the man was found injured, according to the report.
The man, 46, had sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was expected to recover, Santiago said.
No arrests had been made in that shooting as of Aug. 21, Santiago said, and it remained under investigation.
He confirmed the two shootings that July Fourth weekend weren’t related.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Florida man charged with murder after July Fourth weekend shooting
Reporting by Laurie K. Blandford, Treasure Coast Newspapers / Treasure Coast Newspapers
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
Stay tuned for more police content. Join our list here.
Related