A 27-year-old man has been taken into custody by law enforcement in Florida on suspicion of shooting and killing a veteran of the United States Army following an argument that occurred at a petrol station in the previous year.
Kendrick Jerrod Anderson is being charged with second-degree murder for the death of Gregory C. Reed, who was sixty years old and lived in Ocoee, which is a suburb of Orlando.
The incident occurred in November 2023. Ocoee police issued a news release on Friday announcing that investigators had arrested Anderson following an investigation that had lasted for a whole year.
An employee of a Publix grocery store called 911 at approximately 8:30 p.m. on November 9, 2023, to report a collision that involved a Ford SUV and resulted in the death of a person. This information is included in an affidavit of probable cause for arrest.
When law enforcement and emergency medical personnel arrived at the scene, they discovered that the driver, who was later determined to be Reed, had been shot many times. His death was confirmed at the hospital, where he was taken by emergency medical personnel in a hurry.
The SUV was seen on surveillance footage from Publix coming from the BP/Circle K gas station that was adjacent to it. It then made a sudden right turn and collided with a parked vehicle.
A witness at the gas station stated that he and his girlfriend were seated in front of the gas station when he noticed the SUV and a Mercedes enter the parking lot at approximately the same time.
Reed’s SUV came dangerously close to being involved in a collision with the Mercedes driver who was attempting to pull into a pump. According to the witness, Reed responded by honking his horn, which was reported to the police.
A witness stated that Reed and the two individuals who were traveling in the Mercedes were allegedly assessing each other by shouting “what, what” back and forth with each other back and forth.
Reed went to the exit of the petrol station after the Mercedes had been parked at the pump. He was leaving the building.
Right at that moment, the passenger in the Mercedes exited the vehicle, approached Reed’s SUV, and allegedly fired five rounds, hitting Reed many times. Reed was injured as a result of these shootings. Following that, the Mercedes drove away.
At the time of his death, Reed was wearing a T-shirt that read “Domino’s Pizza,” and his supervisor told the cops that he had just finished his shift as a delivery driver before to the murder.
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In the days that followed the incident, the Ocoee police department made available to the general public surveillance photographs of the Mercedes in question.
As soon as the owners of the vehicle watched the news broadcast, they phoned the police. They had stated that they had rented the automobile to Anderson on October 27 for a period of two weeks.
For the most part, Anderson would let his companion drive the vehicle while he sat in the passenger seats, according to the statements that his buddies made to the police. The police have stated that this was corroborated by the street cameras.
A search order was also acquired by the detectives for Anderson’s phone, which allegedly located him in the vicinity at the time of the murder where the crime was committed.
After Reed’s family met with the media to seek for information regarding the shooting, a further search of his phone revealed that he took a picture of a TV station’s live broadcast from the murder scene and sent multiple text messages asking for “prayers.” This was done after Reed’s family visited the media to request for information regarding the killing.
The police brought Anderson into custody on November 4, 2023, and he was sent to the Orange County Jail.
On the other hand, because the prosecution did not proceed with an order for pretrial custody, a judge granted him a bond of fifty thousand dollars, which he has subsequently posted.
Following his graduation from high school in 1981, Reed enlisted in the United States Army with the intention of serving from 1981 until 1984, as stated in his obituary.
At one time in his career, he was employed in the culinary industry and established his own restaurant.
Greg has a soul that was absolutely magnificent. In his roles as a father, son, brother, uncle, and cousin, he was a highly compassionate and dedicated individual.
According to the obituary, “He never failed to make time for his children and family, and he certainly never passed up an opportunity to spend quality time with them.”
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It was first reported on Law & Crime that a veteran of the United States Army was killed after blaring his horn after coming dangerously close to colliding with another vehicle at a fueling station.