14 December 2021 :
Jury Recommends Death for Tyrone Terell Johnson.
Jurors recommended the death penalty on Wednesday for a man convicted of fatally shooting his girlfriend and her 10-year-old son during an argument. The Hillsborough County jury unanimously concluded that Tyrone Terell Johnson, 45, deserves to die. the jury had found him guilty of murdering the mother and child, but prosecutors only sought the death penalty for the boy's slaying. Judge Christopher Sabella will officially sentence Johnson at a hearing scheduled for January. Johnson was staying at an apartment near Tampa with Stephanie Willis and her son, Ricky Ryon Willis, in October 2018 when the couple got into an argument, officials said. Johnson told detectives that he grabbed a handgun and began shooting at his girlfriend when she attacked him and kept firing as the boy entered the room. Investigators said physical evidence did not match Johnson’s account. Blood beneath the boy’s bed and two bullet holes in his bedroom wall indicated he’d tried to hide as he was shot, officials said. Prosecutors argued that Johnson moved the bodies to stage the scene before calling 911.
