ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Five suspects are in custody after four people were shot on Easter evening.
Three men, who have ties to rapper Rod Wave, a St. Pete native, were arrested. The two other suspects turned themselves in at the Pinellas County Jail, according to the St. Petersburg Police Department.
During a press conference Wednesday afternoon, St. Petersburg police said the victims, ranging in age from 17-29 years old, were shot outside the Sonic Sports Bar and Lounge located on 49th Street South. In addition, six vehicles that were passing by in the area were hit by gunshots.
St. Petersburg Police Chief Anthony Holloway explained that the four people shot were not seriously injured.
"I'm tired of the senseless shooting in our community," Holloway said. "If you commit a violent crime in our city, we're going to use every resource that we have available to make sure that we bring those responsible into custody."
Assistant Police Chief Mike Kovacsev said the department identified a group involved with the shooting that goes by the name of "Young Gangsters" or "YG" on social media. Those three men are Christopher Atkins, 24, Keith Wesby, 21, and Kevontre Wesby, 20.
After sharing the news of those three arrests, the police department later announced the identities of the two men who turned themselves in: 32-year-old Elias Torres and 23-year-old Willie Cookinson.
The Investigation
Police said three men took off from the scene after the shooting to a rented house located off 500 Palm Avenue. Both the vehicle and the rented house were reportedly under rapper Rod Wave's real name, Rodarius Green.
Officers on the scene of the shooting reportedly recovered 60 bullet casings.
Kovacsev says the police department performed a search warrant in the house Monday night, where they found two assault rifles, marijuana and other evidence.
Officers then discovered another home rented by Green in Palmetto. With the assistance of the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office and the Manatee County Sheriff's Office, authorities performed a search warrant in that home.
While preparing for the search warrant, detectives saw several people leaving the home. Authorities on the scene arrested the people who reportedly had a firearm on them at the time. Deputies said they located other assault rifles and a handgun inside the home. There was also a BMW discovered on the side of the house that has ties to other shootings that have taken place in the city.
The St. Petersburg Police Department said the men arrested are facing the following charges:
- Kevontre Wesby: Attempted second-degree murder, carrying a concealed firearm and delinquent in possession of a firearm
- Keith Wesby: Attempted second-degree murder
- Christopher Atkins: Attempted second-degree murder
- Elias Torres: Principal to attempted murder in the 2nd degree
- Willie Cookinson: Attempted murder in the 2nd degree and felon in possession
"We've had a challenging week, an extremely challenging week," Kovacsev said. "The detectives have been working tirelessly trying to pull these things together, but it's important to know, with the arrests, there's a closure."
Green was previously arrested in 2022 for a traffic infraction, but later, an investigation discovered he had an outstanding December 2021 warrant out of Osceola County for battery by strangulation.