Between nightclub and Waffle House, motorist was gunned down. Cops look for clues in death.

Investigators still are not sure where along Cortez Road Jerome Miller was shot early Saturday before he crashed his SUV into the Rooms to Go furniture store at 14th Street West. They say they hope video from the numerous surveillance cameras at businesses along Cortez Road will help them crack the case.

At 3:16 a.m. Saturday, Manatee sheriff’s deputies were called to the Rooms To Go store at the northwest intersection of Cortez Road West and 14th Street West in Bradenton to reports of an SUV crashed into the front of the building. When deputies arrived they found the SUV’s driver’s side door riddled with bullet holes and Miller inside suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.

Miller was rushed to a nearby hospital where he died during surgery.

“We don’t think this was random,” sheriff’s office spokesman Randy Warren said. “We think he was targeted, possibly followed or possibly chased.”

Miller’s family told detectives and the Bradenton Herald that he was headed to the Waffle House at 2400 Cortez Road, Bradenton, to meet his nieces after having been out at The Hall nightclub in Palmetto.

On Monday morning, homicide detectives were working on collecting any potential video surveillance footage from that area that may have captured the shooting itself or any vehicles involved. Detectives believe the shooting likely took place as the victim was driving east on Cortez Road between 26th Street West and 20th Street West.

“We are collecting video, none of which we are able to release yet,” Warren said.

Given the time of morning, there couldn’t have been much vehicle traffic which should make it easier for detectives to identify any potential suspects driving, according to Warren. But the sheriff’s office is hoping witnesses will come forward.

On Monday, the victim’s mother was surrounded by family at her Bradenton home.

“He should be at his job right now,” Denise Miller said. “Jerome shouldn’t be dead.”

Miller was her youngest son, one of 10 children. Jerome Miller, known as “Madd Ball,” was also a father himself, leaving behind two daughters and a son.

“He was happy before he died,” his mother said. “He had changed his whole life.”

The change came after her son returned from prison, she said.

Miller was released from a Florida prison in March 2013 after serving a sentence for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Years before going to prison, Miller was well known to local law enforcement because of his involvement in a feud between his family and the Yawn family of Palmetto.

The families had a history of violent clashes, including a 2009 incident that started at the Hall nightclub and involved Jerome Miller. At the nightclub, there had been a heated argument between Miller, other members of his family and Tevin Yawn and his brother Glover Yawn.

A couple hours later, someone broke into Tevin Yawn’s home and shot the teen dead. An hour after the deadly home invasion, a drive-by shooting left the Millers’ home in Bradenton riddled with gunshots.

As a high school junior, Miller was a starting defensive back for Manatee High until a serious motorcycle accident in August 2006 left him in a coma. Football was still very important, according to his mother, and he made sure to never miss his son or nephew’s games and would regularly take them to practice, she said.

Since his release from prison, Miller had not been connected to any violence but had been dealing in drugs. In February, Miller pleaded guilty to federal charges of conspiracy to distribute heroin as part of a plea agreement.

But his mother said, Miller was focused on family and his job at a local cemetery, leading up to his death.

“They caught him at the wrong time,” Denise Miller said. “That was my child. All mothers love their kids.”

This story was originally published April 8, 2019 at 4:14 PM.