Getaway driver enters plea in fatal armed robbery resort shooting, records show
A woman accused of helping plan the 2017 armed robbery that left two Zota Beach Resort employees dead has pleaded guilty in Manatee County court, records show.
Latoya Hanna, 38, entered the plea Jan. 29 to principal to robbery with a firearm in connection with the Longboat Key killings of resort manager Timothy Hurley and security guard Kevin Carter, according to court records. Circuit Judge Frederick Mercurio is set to sentence her on June 25.
Investigators have said Hanna rented the van used in the robbery and acted as the getaway driver while three others entered the beachfront resort at 4711 Gulf of Mexico Drive.
Hanna originally faced a felony murder charge before prosecutors reduced the case to robbery with a firearm, a first-degree felony under Florida law, punishable by up to life in prison. The plea did not include an agreed-upon sentence.
An attorney representing Hanna did not immediately respond to the Bradenton Herald’s request for comment.
Getaway driver pleads guilty in Zota murders
According to arrest reports previously detailed by the Bradenton Herald, Hurley, 59, and Carter, 51, were working shortly before 3 a.m. when masked gunmen forced them to the ground and demanded money. Detectives say the group fled with less than $1,000.
Detectives allege Damien Jarmard Garvin carried a 9 mm handgun and fatally shot both employees after Hurley could not open the hotel safe. Investigators later linked that firearm to a separate 2020 homicide in Miami-Dade County, where Garvin was convicted, according to court records.
Garvin now faces two counts of first-degree murder in Manatee County. He was transferred from state prison and booked into the Manatee County Jail in July , according to court records.
According to an arrest report, the 9 mm handgun Garvin used to kill both victims was traced to Hanna through purchase records.
Hanna’s brother, Darryl Hanna, 37, worked part-time as a security guard at the resort and was arrested shortly after the killings. Prosecutors initially charged him with two counts of second-degree murder and armed robbery. A judge dismissed his case in 2020 after he suffered a severe medical event while in custody, the Bradenton Herald previously reported.
An arrest report states four people took part in the robbery and that cellphone records, rental agreements and ballistic evidence helped investigators build the case over several years. Detectives also documented an earlier attempted robbery at the resort about two weeks before the shootings, when Carter called 911 after spotting suspicious activity in the parking lot.
Court records show Garvin is currently being held at the Manatee County jail and is next scheduled to appear in court for a hearing on June 25, the same day Hanna is set to be sentenced.
As part of the plea proceedings, Mercurio had Hanna’s electronic monitor removed and allowed her to remain free pending June’s sentencing. She previously posted a $150,000 bond, court records show.
