Less than 24 hours after a man was fatally shot at a Plant City convenience store, police arrested the man they believe pulled the trigger.
Following an early-morning car chase and foot pursuit that involved four police agencies, Master Brown, 21, was arrested April 24, for the death of 22-year-old Ha’keem Alagawan Cook.
Brown is accused of shooting Cook following an argument at about 2 p.m. April 23, inside the convenience store at 516 S. Maryland Ave. Plant City Sgt. Tray Towles said the two men were having a conversation that escalated into violence. Multiple witnesses identified Brown as the shooter.
The car chase began after detectives, who were following up on one of many leads, spotted Brown’s vehicle at about 3 a.m. April 24, in south Plant City. The detectives attempted to conduct a traffic stop on Brown’s car. Brown refused to stop, and detectives notified the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, which was assisting in the search. Sheriff’s deputies located Brown and attempted a second traffic stop, but Brown again refused. Deputies pursued Brown, until he crashed into a gate at the intersection of Charlie Taylor and Midway roads.
Brown led police on a foot chase that ultimately involved not only officers and deputies from Plant City police and Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office but also but also from the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office and Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
Brown was apprehended by Polk County deputies near the Hillsborough/Polk line.
Brown’s most recent arrest records from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office list a Plant City address in the 1500 block of Alabama Street. He was arrested in July 2013 for domestic violence battery and obstruction.
Towles said two other men were taken into custody; one has been released. The second was identified as Stefan Jackson, the man suspected of shooting a Plant City father and son during a series of crimes in October 2013.
The store is located less than one-half mile from both Lincoln Magnet Elementary and Marshall Middle schools. Both campuses were placed on immediate lock down.
Mayor Mary Thomas Mathis, who also serves as assistant principal at Marshall, said she was proud of the police work.
“I want to say to … our interim Police Chief John Borders and to our police staff: Thank you for the integrity and the professionalism that I’m hearing from all citizens around,” she said. “Because that could have been very delicate, because we had a victim that was there for five or six hours before the medical examiner could come, and the family was about a block away. That was somebody’s son, someone’s brother, someone’s grandson. And all I’ve heard was the professionalism of our police department.”
Mathis also said Assistant City Manager Bill McDaniel helped reroute school busses to keep local children away from the crime scene.
This is the second homicide in April, in Plant City. On April 10, 36 year-old Wesley Tanner Reece, of Plant City, died of upper-body trauma at 702 N. Woodrow Wilson St. Officers found Reece while conducting a welfare check at the home.
Towles said the most recent homicide is unrelated to the Reece case, which has been turned over to the State Attorney’s office for review.
Associate Editor Amber Jurgensen contributed to this report.
Contact Michael Eng at meng@plantcityobserver.com.