Cops offer bigger rewards in two unsolved homicides in Bradenton

Officials are offering a reward of up to $8,000 for any information leading to an arrest in the gang-related slaying of a man during a fight outside a Bradenton bar Sunday.

An identical reward is also being offered in the unrelated case of a man found shot to death in the doorway to his home in April.

Both cases are being investigated by the Manatee Homicide Investigative Unit. On Thursday, the sheriff's office announced that the rewards for information leading to an arrest in either case had been increased to $8,000 each. The Gold Star Club of Manatee County is offering $5,000 in addition to the standard $3,000 offered by Crimestoppers.

Gabriel Conde, who would have turned 40 on Tuesday, died outside Tommy Knockers, 5627 14th St. W., Bradenton early Sunday morning when an argument outside the bar ended in gunfire. Conde is affiliated with the street gang the Westside Locos.

"We have enough information now to say it's gang-related," sheriff's office spokesman Dave Bristow said on Thursday.

Conde and at least two other men had been at the bar drinking at about 12:30 a.m. Sunday when another group of men arrived. A heated argument erupted between the two groups and they moved the argument outside, where it turned into a fight. At one point during the bar, as people began leaving the bar and parking lot, one of the men in the second group armed himself with a gun and began shooting.

Three or four men, including the shooter, drove off from the parking lot in white 4-door car, possibly a Chevrolet Impala. The shooter is described as being bald, about 5 feet, 8 inches inches tall and was wearing a white t-shirt and blue jeans that night.

In the earlier case, Robert McCarthy, 62, was found shot dead on April 26 in the doorway of his home in the 2100 block of 45th Street Court East in Bradenton. Detectives do not believe the shooting was random.

McCarthy's body was spotted by a neighbor at about 4:20 a.m. on April 26 in the driveway of his Elwood Park home when the neighbor was driving to work and noticed the front door open. Deputies were familiar with McCarthy and have been called to the home in the past for domestic-related incidents.

Detectives have been searching for anyone who may have seen anything between 11 p.m. April 25 and 3 a.m. April 26.

This story was originally published June 14, 2018 at 11:29 AM with the headline "Cops offer bigger rewards in two unsolved homicides in Bradenton."