Lake Wales murder suspect found dead in ‘retaliatory’ shooting, police say
LAKE WALES, Fla. - Law enforcement officers in Polk County are investigating two separate shootings that occurred in Lake Wales Sunday night.
According to the Lake Wales Police Department, officers were called to the Lake Wales Housing Authority Grove Manor complex around 8 p.m. for a medical call and learned that a man had been shot.
Police say witnesses told them they went into an apartment and ran into Kendrick J. Akins, who left the area shortly after they entered.
Inside the apartment, witnesses say they found 23-year-old Rhasaan Marquese Johnson inside the apartment suffering from gunshot wounds.
Johnson was taken to Advent Health Lake Wales where he was pronounced dead.
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According to LWPD, detectives began searching for Akins and received a tip that he was walking near Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Sessoms Avenue around 11:45 p.m.
As they began searching for him, detectives say they heard multiple gunshots and ran toward the shooting. There, police say they found Akins lying on the sidewalk with multiple gunshot wounds.
LWPD says officers rendered aid, but Akins died from his injuries.
Police say Akins and Johnson were both from Lake Wales and knew each other.
While detectives say there is no known motive for the first homicide, the second shooting death appears to be retaliatory.
There is a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the suspect in the shooting death of Akins.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Lake Wales Police Department at 863-678-4223 or if you want to remain anonymous and be eligible for a cash reward, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-226-8477.