Manatee County shooting suspect arrested in Georgia, sheriff’s office says 

A shooting outside of a hotel in south Manatee County on May 24 left one person hospitalized.

Thursday, a man was jailed for the crime in Georgia, according to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.

Robert Lee Williams, Jr., 43, was arrested by the Valdosta Police Department and charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. The sheriff’s office said that Williams faces other charges in Georgia but did not disclose those crimes.

The shooting in Manatee happened around 2:40 p.m. on May 24, a Monday.

Detectives say that a truck with three people inside pulled into the parking lot of the Ramada Inn, 7150 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. The truck driver and passengers planned to meet another friend there, investigators were told.

While they were parked in the lot, a man now identified as Williams got out of a Crown Victoria, approached the truck and demanded that the driver roll down his window, according to the sheriff’s office. The driver complied — at which point Williams pulled out a gun and shot him once, according to detectives.

The driver then fled the lot in his truck and drove north for more than a mile to the parking lot of a CVS at 6204 14th St. W., Bradenton, where someone called 911.

Detectives say they had since identified Williams as a suspect and learned he was staying in the Valdosta, Ga., area.

Detectives are still investigating the motive behind the shooting, according to the sheriff’s office. Law enforcement previously said that the incident did not appear to be a random act of violence.

The shooting victim was treated at a local hospital and continues to recover from his injury, the sheriff’s office said.

Jail records show that Williams is currently being held at the Lowndes County Jail in Georgia. He will be extradited to Manatee County at a later date, according to the sheriff’s office.