Fort Pierce - Monday March 20, 2023: St. Lucie County Sheriff Ken Mascara has announced that a suspect has been arrested in the shooting death of 29-year-old Nikkitia Bryant who was killed at Ilous Ellis Park in Fort Pierce on Martin Luther King Jr. Day this past January 16.
The suspect is 28-year-old Kemmye Riccardo Parson of Fort Pierce. He was arrested by U.S. Marshalls in Tampa last Friday, on St. Patrick's Day, March 17.
"At approximately 8:35 a.m. Friday morning, St. Patty's Day ... the luck of Kemmye ran out," said Sheriff Mascara. "His charges include, attempted first degree murder, murder with a firearm, second degree murder, and possession of a firearm, or ammunition, by a convicted felon."
Parson is being held in the Hillsborough County Jail without bond awaiting extradition to St. Lucie County.
Seven other people were shot and wounded during the MLK Car Show and Family Fun Day. And four others were injured fleeing the area in the chaos following the shooting.
"With the arrest of this suspect, our work is not done," said the Sheriff. "We want to know who the other people were in the park that shot that day. We want to know if there is video or photos out there that our community still has, we want it."
The Florida Sheriff’s Association and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) have offered a combined reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest of suspects in this shooting.
The mother of the Nikitta Bryant spoke during the news conference announcing the arrest of a suspect in her daughter's death. Nikitta White thanked the Sheriff and the detective's "everybody that played a part in arresting this individual." She also encouraged anyone with any further information about the shooting to come forward and help find the others who were involved in the shooting.
Cameras at Fort Pierce Parks
In an effort to deter similar incidents in the future, as well as to make it easier to identify suspects in the event of another incident, the Sheriff’s Office has worked with the St. Lucie County Board of County Commissioners to install cameras at five county parks, which have been plagued with violence and vandalism. These parks include not only Ilous Ellis Park but also Pepper Park, Lakewood Park, Lawnwood Stadium, and the Stan Blum Boat Ramp. Two companies are currently in the process of bidding to supply and install these cameras.
Event Promoter Banned
The Sheriff also said that the County Commissioners have banned the two promoters of the January 16th event from leasing any county facility in the future "due to their failure to procure and maintain an armed security detail, which was cancelled the night before this tragedy.”
The two promoters involved in the MLK Car Show and Family Fun Day event are James Monds and Tiffany Burrell, from leasing any county facility. “They failed to notify the county that the security detail was cancelled. They failed to notify us that it was canceled,” said the Sheriff who also pointed out that the promoters application said there would be no alcohol at the event. However, a beer truck was on the premises, "which clearly suggests their falsification of the event application."
Anyone with any further information related to the shooting is asked to call the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office at 772-462-7300 or you can remain anonymous by calling Treasure Coast Crime Stoppers at 1-800-273-8477.