Would-be killer wanted crime to be caught on camera, cops say

The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office arrested a Palmetto man on an attempted murder charge early Friday.

According to the arrest report, around 11 p.m. Thursday, Trevor Edwards, 31, of Palmetto, drove up to a business in the 5600 block of 57th Avenue East with another man who had collected lottery winnings at the business earlier that day and threatened to come back and shoot one of the victims. Edwards armed himself with a pistol and the man pulled out an AK-47 from the trunk of the car.

They pointed the guns at the victim and said they were going to kill him, so the victim called 911 and Edwards left the area, according to the report.

Edwards returned to the area with the firearm in his black sweatshirt pocket pointed at the victim, but soon after deputies arrived on the scene, Edwards walked away again.

The victim and another person tried to flag down Edwards to the deputy, but as the second victim grabbed Edwards’ hand he shot the second victim in the right wrist. The first victim then tackled Edwards to the ground, where Edwards told the victim, “I am going to kill you.”

A deputy took the firearm away from Edwards and arrested him at 12:05 a.m. Friday.

The man who was with Edwards is no longer considered a suspect and will not be charged, according to sheriff’s office spokesperson Dave Bristow.

While being transported from the criminal investigation interview room to the jail, Edwards made spontaneous statements, including that he wanted to kill the man on camera “so the judge can see it.”

Edwards was charged with aggravated assault, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, possession of weapon by a convicted felon and premeditated attempted murder. He’s being held at the Manatee County jail without bond.

Edwards has a string of arrests, from misdemeanors to felony drug possession. He had three felony convictions, one of which in 2013, he threatened to detonate a bomb after he was apprehended by Wal-Mart employees after trying to steal $298 worth of merchandise.

This story was originally published September 16, 2016 at 12:23 PM with the headline "Would-be killer wanted crime to be caught on camera, cops say."