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St. Pete police make second arrest in burglary tied to deadly shooting

 
Published May 24, 2014

ST. PETERSBURG — Detectives on Tuesday arrested a St. Petersburg teen and charged him with burglarizing the home of a man who was shot to death May 9.

Floyed Lassiter's home at 1837 25th St. S was burglarized the night of May 8, and his keys were stolen in the break-in. Lassiter, 53, spent the night of May 9 in his car, convinced the thieves would return. When they did, he engaged with two of them, police said, and was shot.

He died less than an hour later.

According to a search warrant affidavit, detectives scouring local pawn shops this week uncovered another clue: a 14-karat gold herringbone necklace matching one taken from Lassiter's home. The affidavit states that a pawn slip from David Reynolds Jewelry names Keanu Washington, 18, as the seller.

Fingerprint analysis tied him to the slip, and to an inside windowsill of the Lassiter home. Washington was arrested and charged with burglary, dealing in stolen property and false verification of ownership.

He has not been charged in connection with the murder, and is not considered a suspect in that second incident, a police spokesman said. Police have charged Shirune Green, 19, with first-degree murder and last week took a blood sample from his brother, 16-year-old Gregory Green.

"At this point, we're focusing on the suspect we've charged and his brother," police spokesman Mike Puetz said.

An affidavit filed Friday requests a DNA sample from Washington. Puetz said that's part of the investigative process and doesn't indicate he was involved in the shooting.

Claire Wiseman can be reached at cwiseman@tampabay.com . or (727) 893-8804. Follow her on Twitter @clairelwiseman.