One teen's murder solved, but other cases remain open
TAMPA (FOX13) - Richard Newton's mom got the news Monday: someone would face justice in the death of her 14-year-old son.
"[I am] keeping him alive, keeping his memory alive," said his mother, Danielle Williams.
Monday morning, police acted on a tip and handcuffed Joseph Huggins, accusing him of firing into a birthday party on March 21st and hitting Newton, who they do not believe was the intended target.
"Every court date, I am going to be right there," Williams said. "I am going to be front seat."
Memorials to Tampa's slain teenagers are spread around town.
"Everyday I am still in fear for my life and my other son's life," said Ed Harris, Sr., whose own 14-year-old son, Edward Harris Jr., was killed on May 31st.
Harris, Jr., was hit in a drive-by shooting in a park a block away from his home on Diana Street. Police found the car and arrested the driver, but only for eluding police.
"My family and other families are the victims," said Harris. "But until they come to justice, those people are still out there. They're a threat to everybody."
Harris knows nothing more about E.J.'s shooting than he did four months ago.
Police say they continue to follow leads, but stress that murder investigations, as Newton's mother now knows, can take time.
There have been 29 homicides in Tampa this year, four of them of teenagers, and this is the first of those they have solved.
"I just keep busy," Williams said. "I try to not think of the bad stuff too much."
Her son was killed two months before Harris, and her answer is finally here.
"They just came through and started shooting," said Williams, of her son's shooting. "You knew what you were coming to do, and I don't feel any remorse for whatever they give him."
Williams says neither she or her son knew Huggins before the shooting.
As far as the killing of Harris, and the two other unsolved murders of Tampa teenagers, police are hoping for help from someone with a conscience.
In other words, they need more tips.