Bradenton man found guilty of using 16-year-old girl to lure man into robbery, shooting
.jpg "Kevin Jimenez, 21, of Bradenton, was convicted of second-degree murder with a firearm and robbery with a firearm.")
A Bradenton man who used a teenage girl to lure another man into a robbery that ended in a shooting has been convicted of murder, the State Attorney’s Office said Monday.
A jury found Kevin Jimenez, 21, of Bradenton, guilty of second-degree murder with a firearm and robbery with a firearm on March 10.
The deadly shooting happened on Feb 21, 2022. That day, Jimenez planned to lure a 20-year-old man outside of his home and rob him.
Jimenez told investigators he was angry with the man after he found out he was communicating on social media with a then-16-year-old girl from Sarasota who Jimenez called his girlfriend.
He had the teen set up a meeting with the man for the two to get together and smoke marijuana in the teen’s car, the release said.
According to the State Attorney’s Office, the teen drove with Jimenez to the L’Estancia Apartments at Beneva and Coronado in Sarasota to meet the 20-year-old.
Along the way, they stopped so Jimenez could get a gun from his friend. Once they arrived at the apartments, Jimenez hid in the back passenger seat with the borrowed gun.
As the man walked closer to the car, Jimenez started to get out with the gun, but the man, alarmed by shouting inside the car, then pulled out his own gun in self-defense.
Jimenez fired a shot from inside the car, hitting the man in the face and shattering the car’s rear passenger window, investigators said.
Jimenez and his girlfriend were on the run for three days before being arrested during a traffic stop on Feb. 24, 2022.
Jimenez is scheduled to be sentenced at a later date, and both convictions carry a possible life sentence. His past criminal convictions include two burglaries and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
This story was originally published March 14, 2023 at 12:31 PM.
