Homicide investigation underway after SUV with bullet holes crashes into Bradenton store

BRADENTON, Fla. (FOX 13) - Deputies are investigating a man's death after his SUV crashed into a Rooms-To-Go store in Bradenton early Saturday morning. Investigators found bullet holes in the vehicle.

Deputies said 30-year-old Jerome Miller was driving down the road when someone fired inside his car, hitting him twice. His SUV then slammed into a pillar outside the store.

The person who fired the shots is still on the run. The victim's mom, Denise Miller, is now asking anyone with information to come forward.

"Please somebody help me get the people that killed my son," she pleaded. "That's all I want."

Miller was driving along Cortez Road just after 3 a.m. Saturday morning when someone fired shots inside his car, causing him to lose control and crash into the pillar outside the store.

He was rushed to hospital where he later died.

"We completely believe that this was somebody who was targeting Jerome Miller," Manatee County Sheriff's Office Public Information Officer Randy Warren said. "Somebody who had reason to be shooting at him."

Miller was a married father of three with grandchildren who his family says he cherished. He also worked at a local cemetery to help to support his wife and three kids.

His family admitted he's had his own run-ins with the law, but said he was on good path and no matter what was always a loving father.

"He loved kids," Miller said. "He would go to the football games with my two grandkids."

The Rooms-To-Go store sustained significant damage on the outside. A sign was completely demolished.

Deputies and Miller's family now relying on the public for help.

"I miss my baby," Miller said. "They miss their uncle. They miss their cousin. They miss their brother. He's just a missed young man and is going to be missed forever."

Anyone with information is urged to call 941-747-3011 or Crime Stoppers at 866-634-TIPS. A $5,000 reward is being offered by the Manatee County Sheriff's Office and Gold Star Club of Manatee County, for information leading to the conviction of the person or persons responsible for Miller's death.