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Sheriff's Office: Drug dispute preceded fatal Largo motel shooting

 
Angel E. Martinez, 24, is accused in the shooting death of Ricky Garland, 47, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office. [Pinellas County Jail]
Angel E. Martinez, 24, is accused in the shooting death of Ricky Garland, 47, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office. [Pinellas County Jail]
Published May 29, 2017

LARGO — A fight over drugs preceded the shooting death of a 47-year-old man Thursday night at a Largo motel, the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office said Sunday.

Angel E. Martinez, 24, shot Ricky Garland twice about 10:45 p.m. in the parking lot in front of Garland's residence at the motel, 10464 106th Ave. N, Sheriff's Office spokesman Cpl. Dan DiFrancesco said. The relationship between the two men is unclear, but DiFrancesco said before the shooting there was "some dispute over drugs."

Martinez, who is listed as transient, was accompanied by his girlfriend, Larrisha L. Williams, 23. Williams is listed in court records as a neighbor of Garland's at the motel. Deputies arrested her on felony child neglect charges after she left her two young children alone in her apartment the night of the murder, the Sheriff's Office said.

Garland was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead just after midnight, according to the Sheriff's Office. Martinez left the scene. Detectives found and arrested him Saturday afternoon in St. Petersburg on a second-degree murder charge. He was booked into the Pinellas County Jail, where he remained Sunday afternoon with no bail.

Williams also remained in jail Sunday in lieu of $10,000 bail.

State records show a criminal history for Williams dating back to 2007, including convictions for marijuana possession with intent to sell and armed robbery.