Bradenton man gets life in prison after 22-year-old shot and killed while driving
A convicted Bradenton drug dealer was sentenced to life in prison for shooting 22-year-old Breyon Pittman dead in 2018.
Following a four-day-long trial last week, Arnell Elrod was found guilty by a jury of second-degree murder as he was charged. Prosecutors successfully argued Elrod be sentenced to a mandatory life in prison sentence under the reoffender sentencing enhancement.
Pittman was shot multiple times while driving on Nov. 17, 2018, causing him to crash front of a residence in the 2600 block of 17th Street East in Bradenton. Witnesses saw Elrod get out of the passenger seat of the silver Hyundai Genesis after the crash and run away.
When deputies with the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office arrived to the scene, Pittman was already dead.
A K9 tracking the suspect did not find Elrod, but found a black T-shirt, a Taurus 9 mm handgun and a sneaker before losing the track. Swabs taken from the handle of the handgun later found a DNA match for Elrod.
Less than three days after the shooting, Elrod’s grandmother’s home was “firebombed” in retaliation for shooting, a court document said. The home was only two blocks east of where Pittman was killed and one block south from where the K9 lost track of the suspect.
A crime scene technician collected evidence for the arson case found a blue latex glove with blood on it on the east side of the home’s yard. DNA found on one side of the glove was found to match Pittman’s DNA, while the other side of the glove had a mixture of Elrod and Pittman’s DNA.
Elrod’s prior convictions include conspiracy to traffic cocaine, tampering with evidence, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime and possession of a controlled substance.
“We are pleased with the jury’s ability to stay focused on the relevant evidence presented throughout the trial and returning the appropriate verdict,” Assistant State Attorney Charlie Lawrence said in a statement released by the State Attorney’s Office. “The hard work and investigative skills of the men and women of the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office ensured we could obtain justice for the family of Breyon Pittman.”
