{"id":303244,"date":"2026-06-10T23:37:33","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T23:37:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/303244\/"},"modified":"2026-06-10T23:37:33","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T23:37:33","slug":"tampa-police-reclassify-deadly-hit-and-run-as-a-homicide-as-they-search-for-the-suspect-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/303244\/","title":{"rendered":"Tampa police reclassify deadly hit-and-run as a homicide as they search for the suspect"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tampa police have reclassified a deadly hit-and-run<\/a> investigation as a homicide case.<\/p>\n

In an update, police said they believe the crash that killed a nightclub security guard over the weekend was intentional. Now, they’re searching for the 32-year-old man they’ve identified as the suspect.<\/p>\n

The incident began around 4:30 a.m. Sunday, June 7, inside the Vale after-hours nightclub on Armenia Avenue.<\/a><\/p>\n

Investigators say 32-year-old Jose Zamora Valdes was being kicked out of the club after getting into an argument with a woman he knew. As security staff was escorting him out, he reportedly pushed the woman, causing her to stumble into someone else.<\/p>\n

The security guard then began walking to the car with his friend as Zamora Valdes was getting into his own car.<\/p>\n

As Zamora Valdes drove northbound on Armenia Avenue, police say he made a sharp, intentional turn to hit the security guard. The security guard, a man in his 30s, was critically injured and later died. His friend sustained minor injuries.<\/p>\n

According to police, Zamora Valdes fled the scene after the intentional “attack.”<\/p>\n

The car he was driving has been located and impounded, but police are still searching for Zamora Valdes. Homicide detectives have secured an arrest warrant on charges of murder and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.<\/p>\n

The Tampa Police Fugitive Apprehension Unit and the U.S. Marshals Task Force are actively working to find him. Anyone with information on where Jose Zamora Valdes may be is asked to call\u00a0813-231-6130 and refer to report No. 26-336350. Those who wish to remain anonymous can share tips through Crimestoppers of Tampa Bay<\/a> at\u00a0800-873-TIPS (8477).<\/p>\n

The investigation is ongoing.<\/p>\n

“Our hearts go out to the family and colleagues of the security guard who lost his life while simply doing his job to keep others safe,” Chief Lee Bercaw said in a statement. “Using a vehicle as a weapon and driving into unsuspecting victims is a cowardly act, and it has no place in our community.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tampa police have reclassified a deadly hit-and-run investigation as a homicide case. In an update, police said they…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":303245,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[6868,126863,45544,135,1526,137,136,3793,126865],"class_list":["post-303244","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-deadly-weapon","tag-jose-zamora-valdes","tag-security-guard","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-bay","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news","tag-tampa-police-department","tag-zamora-valdes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/303244","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=303244"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/303244\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/303245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=303244"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=303244"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=303244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}