Police say Florida man that set 2 women on fire also responsible for gas station murders
Pastor Dale Morgan
Police say Florida man that set 2 women on fire also responsible for gas
station murders*
A Winter Haven man faces multiple charges after a violent botched
robbery in Lake Wales.
Gabrielle Finley
Sentinel Staff Writer
4:40 PM EST, December 15, 2007
Leon Davis, a 30-year-old Winter Haven man, arrested Thursday for
dousing two women, one of them pregnant, with gasoline and setting them
afire at a local insurance officer during a robbery attempt is also
responsible for the Dec. 7 shooting deaths of two BP gas station clerks
in Lake Alfred, the Polk County Sheriff's announced today.
Now detectives are offering $5,000 for the recovery of the murder weapon.
Detectives said bullet projectiles from a Dan Wesson .357 revolver that
Davis used in the gas station killings matched with projectiles found
after Davis shot during Thursday's attempted robbery.
After a massive manhunt Thursday, Davis surrendered to deputies at a
sheriff's substation later that night.
He was charged with three counts of attempted murder, two counts of
kidnapping and one county of armed robbery.
He also faces three counts of arson and one count of posession of a
firearm by a felon.
Sheriff's officials said they're working with the State Attorney's
Office to file charges against Davis in the gas station homicides.
Charges will be charged in the next coming weeks, sheriff's officials said.
Davis remains in Polk County Jail with no bail.
Investigators said that, on Thursday, Davis entered the Nationwide
Insurance Office in Lake Wales and kidnapped two female employees,
Juanita Luciano and Yvonne Bustamante, both 26.
After demanding money from the women, and duct taping both women inside
the office restroom, Davis poured gasoline on them and set them on fire,
they said.
The victims ran away from Davis, but he fired his revolver
Brandon Greisman ran inside the office to help the women and Davis fired
his gun again, this time hitting Greisman in the nose.
Both women are in critical condition at Orlando Regional Medical Center
and Greisman was taken to Lake Wales Hospital and didn't sustain
life-threatening injuries, the Sheriff's Office said.
Investigators said bullet projectiles from the attempted robbery at the
insurance office matched projectiles found at the BP Gas Station in Lake
Alfred where Pravinkumar C. Patel, 33, and Dasharathbhai C. Patel, 51,
were found dead.
A third clerk, Prakashkumar "Peter" Patel called police and was not harmed.