Jury convicts Bradenton man of killing ex-girlfriend’s new partner, prosecutors say
A Bradenton man could spend life in prison after a Manatee County jury found him guilty of killing another man during a confrontation outside his home.
A jury convicted Deandre Sanders, 31, of second-degree murder with a firearm and domestic battery by strangulation after a three-day trial presided over by Circuit Judge Teri Dees, according to court records.
Under Florida law, second-degree murder with a firearm carries a maximum sentence of life in prison and a minimum mandatory sentence of 25 years. A sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled.
An attorney representing Sanders did not immediately respond to the Bradenton Herald’s request for comment.
Investigators said jealousy over a new relationship involving Sanders’ ex-girlfriend drove him to shoot and kill 31-year-old Frank Green after days of escalating tension.
On April 16, 2021, Sanders dropped off the children he shared with his ex-girlfriend and saw Green at her home, according to an arrest report. That night, Sanders saw Green and the woman share what investigators described as “an intimate moment,” which they said enraged him. The next day, when the woman dropped the children off at Sanders’ apartment for him to watch them, detectives said Sanders became upset when he learned Green had been in her car.
On April 18, 2021, the woman was about to get in the shower when she heard someone banging on her apartment door and breaking one of her windows, according to the arrest report. She called 911, but deputies said they could not find Sanders.
Later that day, the woman called Sanders and told him she was on her way to pick up the children. Fearing for her safety, she called 911 again and asked for a deputy to be present, according to the arrest report. She also asked Green to accompany her. No deputies were present when the children were exchanged, investigators said.
When the woman drove to Sanders’ apartment with Green sitting in the back seat of her gray Chevrolet Malibu, Sanders stood outside waiting in the driveway, according to the arrest report. Detectives said Green remained in the car while Sanders and the woman argued.
At some point during the argument, Sanders opened the rear driver’s side door and fired at least 16 rounds at Green, prosecutors said. Deputies later recovered 19 spent .40 caliber shell casings at the scene, according to an arrest report.
Paramedics responded to Sanders’ home in the 5700 block of Fifth Street East and confirmed Green dead at the scene, the Bradenton Herald previously reported.
After the shooting, prosecutors said Sanders turned his attention to the woman, beating and choking her while berating her about her relationship with Green. Sanders also pointed the pistol at her stomach, according to an arrest report.
Conviction in Bradenton murder trial
Prosecutors later praised the woman’s courage for testifying against Sanders during the trial.
“This was an incredibly traumatic event for the surviving victim,” Assistant State Attorney Suzanne O’Donnell said in a written statement. “Yet, while still fighting through the trauma, she bravely faced her ex-boyfriend in court and testified against him. Mr. Green was an innocent victim in all of this, and his family has been understandably devastated.”
Detectives obtained video surveillance footage from a nearby home that captured the sounds of the argument and gunfire. The video and audio were of poor quality, but investigators later enhanced the audio to better hear what happened, according to the arrest report.
In an interview with detectives, the woman said she did not hear any argument between Sanders and Green before the shooting.
Deputies arrested Sanders weeks later and charged him with second-degree murder, domestic battery by strangulation and aggravated assault with a firearm, the Bradenton Herald previously reported.
Sanders’ previous criminal history includes a 2017 arrest on a domestic battery charge, according to court records. In that case, he was accused of snatching one of his children from the mother’s arms and pushing her after being told he could take the child.
The State Attorney’s Office later declined to prosecute the case.
