Palmetto cold case now has a suspect. Police say they know who shot Sarasota man

After more than seven years, police are ready to charge a suspect in a Palmetto shooting that became a cold-case murder.

Palmetto police are searching for 28-year-old Ricardo Garcia Jr. of Palmetto to arrest him on first-degree-murder. Manatee County Sheriff’s Office deputies and U.S. Marshals are assisting in the search.

The deadly shooting happened on March 22, 2014. Garcia was at The Hall, a popular Palmetto nightclub, when police say he got into a fight with another patron. Later, Garcia hopped in his pickup truck and followed a car from the club. According to police, Garcia believed the person he fought with was inside of it.

But Garcia pulled up and opened fire on the wrong vehicle, investigators say. After Garcia fired a barrage of bullets into the sedan, one struck 26-year-old Javare Thomas in the head. He later died.

Thomas, who was from Sarasota, would now be 34, according to the police department.

His mother Tonya Thomas was involved in the search for her son’s killer for years.

“As a mother, this will never go away. Ever,” Thomas said in 2019. “My family suffered very much. Not only my family, the community, his friends. Javare is well-known as a loving person and we will keep our hearts as a family as a whole to uplift his standards.”

Investigators are still looking for more information about the shooting, as well as Garcia’s whereabouts. Anyone with information can contact the Palmetto Police Department at 941-721-2000. Anonymous tips can be submitted through Manatee County Crime Stoppers at 866-634-8477 or at manateecrimestoppers.com.

This story was originally published April 7, 2021 at 7:50 PM.