Man conspired to cover up murder, police say

A man who lives inside the home where a 22-year-old was pistol whipped and fatally shot in the head is facing an accessory charge, police said.

Monday, North Port police announced 42-yr-old Michael Hendricks Jr. was arrested and charged with accessory to second-degree murder and possession of a weapon or ammo by a convicted felon in connection with the death of Jaqavies “Quay Quay” Rivers last week.

Police said they have evidence that Hendricks “conspired to cover up the crime and lied to authorities during the investigation,” according to a release.

Drugs, guns and ammunition were also found inside the home in the 2400 block of Roxbury Circle in North Port. Police found .45-caliber ammunition in a room where Hendricks had a collection of shoes and a rear room of the home. A rifle and more ammunition was found in a third room, according to the probable cause affidavit.

Rivers was found dead in the Roxbury Circle home’s laundry room Sept. 26 after having been struck with a pistol then shot in the head, according to police.

When investigators arrived around 1:20 a.m. on the morning of Sept. 26, Hendricks was sitting on the sidewalk, according to the probable cause affidavit.

A woman told officials they had just returned from Fort Myers when Hendricks went into the home and found Rivers dead.

On Sept. 27, a woman called investigators from Cape Coral and said she and Hendricks wanted to “tell police the truth,” according to the affidavit. They added they were afraid of retaliation.

Police also arrested Marquis “Choppa” Harris, 26, on Friday, who they said lives across the street from where the shooting occurred. Harris is facing two felony charges: second-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Police said Rivers and Harris argued outside the home the night of Sept. 25 about a previous burglary involving drugs and money. Hendricks told police that during the argument, he tried to calm the men down, but they went inside and continued to argue in the laundry room.

The argument escalated and Harris struck Rivers with a pistol and shot him in the head at point-blank range, according to police.

Something from the gunshot struck Hendricks, who was standing to the right of Harris when he pulled the trigger, according to the affidavit. There was evidence of bruising.

Hendricks told police he and another person gathered children that were in the house at the time of the shooting and took them to a friend’s home. Harris left the home after the shooting as well.

Hendricks was convicted of a felony in March 2010, according to police.

During a search of Harris’ Wexford Street home Friday, officials found a gun matching a description given to detectives as what was used to kill Rivers that also had DNA evidence on it and a spent casing in the gun’s barrel.

Anyone with information on the incident can call Detective James Keller at 941-429-7322 or jkeller@northportpd.com.

This story was originally published October 2, 2017 at 1:26 PM with the headline "Man conspired to cover up murder, police say."