10 Apr Man once accused of murder for fentanyl overdose death arrested in February drive-by shooting
A man once charged with murder in a fentanyl-overdose death was arrested this week in a February drive-by shooting — possibly carried out in retaliation for his teenage brother’s slaying three years ago, according to a witness.
Tamas Harris Jr, 20, faces two counts of attempted first-degree murder and one count of shooting into an occupied vehicle in a Feb. 9 shooting that left one man wounded on Citrus Tree Drive in Seminole County.
In 2017, Harris was the first person indicted by Seminole-Brevard State Attorney Phil Archer’s office on a first-degree murder charge in connection with fentanyl, a dangerous and powerful opioid. He was accused of selling the drug to Sonny Priest, 39, who was found dead from an overdose in his Altamonte Springs the prior December.
However, Harris’ case was one of several brought by Archer’s office before a change to state law took effect that added fentanyl to the list of drugs that could result in a capital charge. Circuit Judge Marlene Alva dismissed the charge against Harris in June 2018, a decision the State Attorney’s Office is currently appealing.
In the new case, a resident of Spring Street told authorities her grandchildren were playing outside her home about 4:30 p.m. Feb. 9 when a dark-colored BMW sped past, which she recognized from a drive-by shooting the week before.
The woman ordered her grandchildren inside, she told authorities. Then, she said, the shooting started.
The witness said she recognized the three suspects in the BMW because they are in her neighborhood frequently. She said Harris was in the front passenger seat with one gun, while another man was in the back seat with two guns, firing toward her son’s 2005 Infiniti.
When deputies arrived, the Infiniti had “significant damage” from being shot, an investigator wrote in a report.
Three people were in the Infiniti when it was shot up, but only one, Jarrod Dessow, was shot. His wound was described as not life-threatening. A second occupant was taken to the hospital with chest pains. The third person was not injured.
The uninjured occupant told deputies she saw the BMW approaching the Infitini with the front and rear windows partially lowered. The witness saw a silver handgun being pointed out of one of the windows. She said she ducked as the shots rang out.
Authorities implicated Harris based off the grandmother’s identification of him being inside the car during the shooting, records show. Deputies said they also discovered that the father of another suspect identified by the woman owned a blue BMW. That suspect’s name was redacted from the report because he is a juvenile, sheriff’s spokesman Bob Kealing said Tuesday.
The woman said she believed the shooting was in retaliation for the 2016 slaying of Harris’ 15-year-old brother, Tamar, who was shot to death while riding in a car in Altamonte Springs.
His killer has not been caught.
Reached by phone Tuesday afternoon, Jeanina Washington, the Harris brothers’ mother, said the implication the February shooting was in retaliation for Tamar’s killing is “all hearsay.” Washington also expressed frustration that Tamar’s killing has still not been solved, while her son was arrested in the February shooting based on one person’s identification of him being in the car.
“They all are so quick to pick up my boy on no physical evidence … but they’re not trying to make an arrest on who killed my 15-year-old son,” Washington said.
Tamas Harris was arrested Monday, when deputies found him outside of the Lux car wash on State Road 436 in Altamonte Springs.
Harris began running when sheriff’s deputies identified themselves, authorities said. While he was being chased, Harris looked back and ran into a parked car, losing his hat and his cellphone. He continued running, losing a shoe when a deputy grabbed his leg. An investigator eventually tackled him, according to his arrest report.
Harris was taken into custody after one deputy kneed him in the hip, while another struck his back repeatedly. Authorities said Harris was resisting their attempts to take him into custody.
Tamas Harris is being held in the Seminole County Jail without bond. Court records Tuesday afternoon did not list a lawyer representing him on the attempted-murder charge.
Michael Williams can be reached at miwilliams@orlandosentinel.com, 407-420-5022 or @michaeldamianw.
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