Gainesville man sentenced to 30 years for 2022 deadly taking pictures outdoors comfort retailer

A 24-year-old Gainesville man was sentenced final week to 30 years in jail for the 2022 fatal shooting of a person outdoors a comfort retailer on East College Avenue.

Zamonte Demetri Hartsfield pleaded no contest on Oct. 7 as a part of a plea take care of prosecutors to fees of second-degree homicide, tried homicide and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Hartsfield should serve a minimal of 25 years behind bars adopted by 9 years of probation. He was given credit score for 916 days time served.

In line with the unique launch from the Gainesville Police Division, officers arrived on the Wawa, positioned at 1007 E. College Ave., simply east of the Duckpond neighborhood, on April 5, 2022, at roughly 9 p.m. and located the sufferer, later recognized as Wallace Lee Jr., on the bottom with an obvious gunshot wound.

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As detectives have been interviewing individuals on the gasoline station, Hartsfield arrived about an hour later on the emergency room at UF Well being Shands Hospital with a gunshot wound, and personnel on the hospital notified GPD.

Hartsfield was interviewed by police and launched, however was introduced again within the following day for questioning.

“We introduced him again in at the moment and shortly realized, ‘OK that is a person that was not solely concerned within the incident final night time however in actual fact pulled the set off that killed our sufferer,'” GPD reported, noting that Hartsfield confessed to the taking pictures.

In line with the police report, Hartsfield fired a handgun a number of instances right into a car, putting Lee, who was within the passenger seat, “3 times and killing him.” The driving force of the car “needed to duck to keep away from being shot within the head.”

In line with the report, the motive force of the car was assembly Lee as a result of Lee “owed him cash and was shopping for hashish from him.” Hartsfield initially held a gun to the motive force’s head, who ducked and tried to cover. Hartsfield reportedly saved firing into the automotive. Somebody within the car returned hearth from the car, hitting Hartsfield “twice within the buttocks.” Hartsfield instructed police it was “a drug deal gone flawed.”

This text initially appeared on The Gainesville Solar: Gainesville man, 24, sentenced to 30 years for shooting outside Wawa