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Man charged in Temple Terrace shooting death

 
Published Dec. 23, 2014

TEMPLE TERRACE — A 19-year-old man was arrested Sunday and charged with felony first-degree murder and robbery with a firearm in the death of a man during a botched holdup.

Temple Terrace police said Monday they had charged Brett Krystopher Kutzler, who has no known address, in the Friday shooting death of Ditavius D. Jordan, 21, of E Stratford Avenue in Temple Terrace.

Kutzler and Jordan, police said, had arranged to meet a third man at 9:30 p.m. in a parking area behind the Winn-Dixie shopping plaza at 8837 N 56th St. for a drug buy.

At the meeting, Jordan pulled a gun on the third man and told Kutzler to go through his pockets, police said. Kutzler removed his cellphone, according to police.

But the man being robbed pulled a handgun and shot Jordan in the chest during an exchange of gunfire, police said. Kutzler and Jordan drove away in a gray sedan. Kutzler later dropped the wounded Jordan in the 300 block of St. Augustine Avenue, police said.

A passing motorist found Jordan dead a short time later.

Kutzler was identified as a suspect after an investigation by Temple Terrace police and arrested at the police station when he arrived for questioning driving the sedan connected to the robbery, police said.

Under Florida law, any participant in a felony such as robbery can be charged with murder if someone is killed during the crime, even if the person did not fire the gun.

Police have not identified the triggerman in the killing pending further investigation.