Trial of man charged with two murders in retaliation for stealing his money begins Monday

The trial of the only man still facing charges in the fatal shooting of Karl Tuxford and fatal stabbing of Jordan Finlon is scheduled to get underway Monday.

Just before 1 p.m. Jan. 19, 2016, Tuxford, 38, was found shot dead half-hanging out of his Jeep when Bradenton police officers responded to the 1100 block of Eighth Avenue East to reports of a shooting. Tuxford, who had been shot five times, was declared dead at the scene.

Less than an hour later, Finlon’s body was found by Manatee County Sheriff’s deputies on the side of Bishop Harbor Road in Terra Ceia Preserve State Park in northern Manatee County after getting a call from motorists who spotted her body when they drove past. Finlon had been stabbed between 40 to 44 times, according to the autopsy results.

In the days that followed, detectives with the Manatee Homicide Investigative Unit were able to connect the two murders and determined that the motive was retaliation for a previous burglary at the home of the suspect, Dwayne Cummings.

Cummings, 40, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of armed kidnapping. If convicted of first-degree murder, he will automatically be sentenced to serve life in prison since the state is not seeking the death penalty.

On Monday, the jury selection process will begin in Cummings’ trial, which is expected to conclude by Friday.

Among those scheduled to testify is co-defendant Ahmad “Geesey” Leon Dunbar.

Dunbar, 40, who had also been a suspect in Finlon’s death, was charged with second-degree murder with a firearm in Tuxford’s death and was facing up to life in prison.

In the wake of the unexpected death of a star witness in the case, Dunbar pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of accessory to first-degree murder. Dunbar was sentenced to credit for time served in the county jail and one year of house arrest followed by one year of probation — a downward departure from sentencing guidelines.

Dunbar’s testimony will have to corroborate with the proffer he gave on Aug. 25. Following the trial, Dunbar will eligible to have his house arrest converted to probation, including the removal of his ankle monitor.

The suspect turned star witness Fredrick “Freddie” Douglas, 44, died of natural causes, according to an autopsy report. Douglas had initially been wanted as a suspect in the case, but following his arrest on unrelated charges, he was questioned and not charged.

The day before the couple was killed, Cummings reported to the Bradenton police that his home had been burglarized and a safe and cash were taken.

A confidential informant reached out to Detective Jim Curulla, lead homicide detective in Tuxford’s murder, that Finlon had met with her, told her she and Tuxford had committed a robbery and stole $800 and then bought narcotics with the stolen money.

Douglas told the same informant Finlon and Tuxford had robbed his cousin, Cummings, and he put out a “reward” for them. She said Douglas told her they were going to “beat her up” and “kill the dude.”

Detective Jeffrey Bliss, lead homicide detective in Finlon’s murder, has previously testified that Douglas had given them an emotional statement about how Finlon was driven to Rubonia in another car, a Cadillac owned by Cummings, as Dunbar sat close to her in the backseat. Cummings pulled her out and then began stabbing her.

“He said it was so brutal he couldn’t really look at it, he had to turn away,” Bliss said. “She was making some whimpering noises, gasping for air and it was a friend of his so he couldn’t really watch.”

Bliss said it is one of the most brutal murders he has ever seen.

This story was originally published November 11, 2017 at 1:22 PM with the headline "Trial of man charged with two murders in retaliation for stealing his money begins Monday."