HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. – Hillsborough County deputies say the suspect responsible for shooting and killing the manager of a popular DeLand restaurant has died in a standoff along with his girlfriend.
Deputies said a male and a female body were found in trailer. The bodies were identified as James Seagraves, 29, and Kayla Nemoto, 20.
The cause of death for either person has not yet been determined.
Police said they were serving a warrant to Seagraves on Symmes Road when he barricaded himself in a trailer with his girlfriend. Deputies said they tried making contact with Seagraves but lost contact with him.
Deputies said Seagrave told authorities through a cellphone "come and get it" and tried to get them to come inside.
"His antagonistic behavior and attitude with negotiators over the phone indicated he wasn't going to come out peacefully," said Det. Larry McKinnon with the Hillsborough County Sheriffs Office.
Instead, the cops put tear gas in the mobile home to force them out. When that didn't work, authorities broke out windows and door and found the two bodies dead in a bathroom, deputies said. They were barricaded in the home for nearly four hours.
The home was owned by Seagrave's relatives.
According to a news conference in Tampa, police said Seagraves is a known, violent, convicted felon who was released from prison on March 2. Records show Seagraves has had seven arrests, including a non-violent robbery.
Six schools were on lockdown in the area, according to police.
Police said Mainstreet Grill manager Tom Walsh, 44, was found shot to death at the restaurant on New York Avenue in April. Investigators believe he was alone in the restaurant at the time of the shooting and another employee returned to the restaurant and discovered Walsh.
Neighbors said Walsh had a daughter around 9-years-old and was from Ireland. In an emotional news conference, Phil Martins, the owner of Mainstreet Grill, said he was determined the city's police department would find Walsh's killer.
"I miss Tom so dearly, and I'm so sorry for your loss," Martins said. "But we never gave up. Everyday we woke up and we knew we were going to catch Tom's killer. We patiently held our breath, but were confident in the leadership of our city's police department that we'd come to a conclusion."
The Hillsborough County Medical Examiner's Office will release the official cause of death after autopsies.
Watch Local 6 for more on this story.