19 year old coon rapes a teenage girl and 61 year old woman
Mike Gross
TAMPA — Jury selection is underway in the first case against Kendrick
Morris, a 19-year-old accused of raping a teenage girl at the
Bloomingdale library in 2008 and a 61-year-old daycare worker in 2007.
This week, Morris will stand trial in the day care case.
In the early morning of June 28, 2007, at the Children's Lighthouse Day
Care Center in the Clair-Mel area, a masked man with a knife came in
behind a day care worker, ordered her to the floor and asked for money,
she told investigators. She said he made her remove her clothes and
raped her.
The victim ran to the teachers' bathroom, locked herself in and began
yelling and banging on the wall to attract attention. Deputies later
found her naked in the driveway. They were able to collect DNA.
Morris lived three blocks away from the day care.
Authorities said they linked the DNA to Morris that following April,
after he was accused of brutally raping an East Bay High School senior
outside the Bloomingdale library.
In this week's case, he is charged with five counts: Armed burglary of a
structure with assault or battery, attempted robbery with a deadly
weapon, two counts of sexual battery and one of attempted sexual
battery, all with a deadly weapon.
Morris' public defenders have argued that it will be impossible to seat
an impartial jury today because of the extensive media coverage the teen
defendant has gotten. Hillsborough Circuit Judge Chet A. Tharpe denied
their request to move the trial to another city.
Every seat in the courtroom is taken by a potential juror, and attorneys
are beginning to screen the pool of 98.
First order of business: A 16-question form jurors will fill out, in
which they disclose how exposed they have been to coverage. The
questionnaire asks whether they follow the news, how and how often, if
they've ever heard of Kendrick Morris or if they've participated in a
fundraiser for a crime victim.
It asks to circle yes or no for 10 cases, under have you ever read about
or regularly followed any of the following news stories:
"Bayshore rapist."
"Walker Middle School Assault."
"Casey Anthony case."
"Bloomingdale Library Rape."
Attorneys are calling some individual jurors into a back room to
question them.
Alexandra Zayas can be reached at or (813) 226-3354.