Vernon Williams

In the early morning of Sunday, April 10, 2022, Vernon Williams, a 60-year-old man, was found deceased in the 900 block of Melrose Avenue South in Saint Petersburg, Florida. Officers had responded to a call about a man bleeding around 7:15 a.m. and discovered Mr. Williams at the scene. An investigation determined that he had died from a gunshot wound in what authorities believed was an unprovoked attack while he was walking.

The St. Petersburg Police Department immediately began a homicide investigation. Just two days later, another man, 24-year-old Corlenzo Williams, was shot and killed in a separate but similarly random incident in the city. Investigators confirmed that the two victims, despite sharing a last name, had no known connection to each other. Concerned that a single suspect might be responsible for both unprovoked shootings, police warned the public and offered a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to an arrest in each case.

Through a cooperative investigation involving the St. Petersburg Police Department, the Tampa Police Department, and the FBI, authorities quickly identified a person of interest. Police Chief Anthony Holloway noted that a third person had also come forward, reporting that a suspect in a car had approached him and displayed a weapon before he managed to run away. On April 13, 2022, investigators took 34-year-old Johnny Carnegie into custody in neighboring Hillsborough County on charges unrelated to the homicides.

Johnny Carnegie was later charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of both Vernon Williams and Corlenzo Williams. Police described the attacks as seemingly random, stating that in both incidents, the shooter approached the victims, spoke to them, and then shot them. In June 2022, prosecutors announced that they would be seeking the death penalty against Carnegie for the murder charges. As of that announcement, the case was pending trial.