SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – A Sanford man was found guilty of murder after opening fire on a parked car outside an apartment complex in 2022 and killing an 18-year-old and injuring two others.
Thallas J. Inman Jr. was found guilty of first-degree premeditated murder after a six-day trial, the state attorney’s office said in a release on Wednesday.
According to Sanford police, Inman Jr. and two others used rifles to shoot up a red Kia Optima outside of the Hatteras Sound Apartments on Nov. 20, 2022.
Inside the vehicle was 18-year-old Isaiah Diaz, who “suffered a massive amount of wounds” after more than 53 shots were fired, according to the state attorney’s office. Diaz was pronounced dead and two other passengers — one who was shot and another who had minor injures — survived.
“Looking at the aftermath of this incident, it is clear that this was a cold and calculated assault on these young men’s lives,” Sanford Police Chief Cecil Smith said in 2022. “The fact that anyone in that vehicle survived is miraculous.”
News 6 on Wednesday obtained new video from the day of the shooting. Ring cameras captured a group of armed suspects walking through the parking lot of the apartment complex. Just two minutes later, another angle shows the suspects walking up to the car investigators say Diaz was in. A loud sound can be heard just before puffs of smoke become visible.
The state attorney’s office also shared a photo of the vehicle, which had a significant damage from the “automatic rifle ambush,” including a shattered windshield and multiple bullet holes. During the trial, the medical examiner testified that pieces of metal and glass became projectiles during the assault.
This fatal shooting happened less than a year after Inman Jr. was released from prison, prosecutors said.
The state attorney’s office said when news of the shooting circulated, Inman Jr.’s mother told police she recognized her son and his involvement. However, when asked to testify in court during the trial, she refused and was found in contempt of court and sentenced to 179 days in jail.
Inman Jr. was also found guilty of attempted first-degree murder, shooting into a building or vehicle and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He faces life in prison and will be sentenced on Oct. 7.
He is also one of 12 people who were indicted earlier this year for murder and attempted in the 2023 drive-by shooting stemming from a high-profile dispute between music stars Kodak Black and Jackboy.
[RELATED: 13 arrested, 1 wanted in fatal 2023 drive-by shooting in Seminole County]
The state attorney’s office called the shooting a “botched attempt to kill musician Jackboy.”
Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma said that Jackboy’s entourage was heading to Orlando when deputies heard shots fired. Deputies said the shots came from a vehicle toward one of the vans in the entourage.
Six women in the van were shot, and one of the women, 31-year-old Princess Tolliver, was killed.