Police: Suspect surrenders in slayings of 2 Tampa officers during routine traffic stop

Suspect in killing of 2 Fla. officers surrenders

TAMPA, Fla. — A man wanted for the slayings of two Tampa police officers surrendered to police Friday night, officials said.

Tampa police announced late Friday that Dontae Rashawn Morris turned himself in at around 10:30 p.m. He faces two counts of murder in the deaths of officers David Curtis and Jeffrey Kocab during a routine traffic stop early Tuesday morning.

“Honestly I can never remember a point in my life where I felt more relieved,” said Tampa Police Chief Jane Castor. Morris is also charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, she said.

Morris’ surrender came after an intense four-day manhunt in Tampa. Hundreds of officers in tactical gear combed apartment buildings, vacant homes and even in waterways to find Morris. Detectives fielded more than 400 tips in the case.

But in the end, Morris walked into a police station — officials would not say where — just hours after a wake for officers Curtis and Kocab drew hundreds of mourners. By 11 p.m., Morris was upstairs at Tampa Police headquarters as officials held a press conference. He was scheduled to be transferred to the county jail later in the evening.

It was not yet known whether Morris has retained a lawyer.

Around 2:15 a.m. Tuesday, Curtis pulled over a man and woman in a red Toyota Camry. He called for backup after seeing that the man — identified as Morris — was wanted in Jacksonville for writing a bad check.

Six minutes after Curtis and Kocab approached the passenger side, a witness called 911 to report they were shot. The officers were pronounced dead at a hospital.

Earlier Friday, police officers, government officials, relatives and others crowded into a church to pay their respects to the two slain officers.

Officials say Morris, a 24-year-old convicted felon, is a suspect in two other slayings and wanted for questioning in a third, in addition to the police killings.