Residents march for peace in Manatee County's Pride Park community in wake of recent fatal shootings

MANATEE -- They marched for peace, urging the Pride Park community to come together to stop the violence that has plagued the neighborhood.

"Stop the violence. Stop the violence. Come together," they shouted as they walked along the quiet streets of Pride Park on Sunday. "Stop the violence. Stop the shooting. Stop the killing."

About a dozen people -- men, women and children -- led by community leaders Angela Willett and Wayne Washington marched through the streets of Pride Park.

Willett said she wanted the message to be heard, that she and others in the community are sick and tired of the shootings and killings.

"In this area we have had a lot of gun shootings, people dying on the streets so we are taking initiative through the community to let everybody know that we are not going to tolerate this anymore," Willett said before the peace march. "We need to stand up as a community as a whole and speak up about these things."

But before they marched they held hands, including a Manatee County Sheriff's Office deputy who marched along with them.

"We ask that this peace rally, God, cannot only inspire this community, but we ask that you give them the time, give this people the passion to care about their own community, God," Washington prayed out loud. "We ask that you just give us encouragement, God, and continue to do what we need to do."

He also thanked God for the sheriff's office patrol deputies that were joining them, including the one who marched with them, and three that drove alongside, ahead and behind them.

"We are tired of all this going on in our community and we really want to make it better," Washington said.

They began to march near Pride Park at the intersection of 12th Street East and 61st Avenue East at 4 p.m. Sunday and walked up and down some of the neighborhood's most crime-ridden streets.

Some residents cheered them on. Children chanted with the those marching. And some even joined the march.

One man got out of the passenger side of the a van, put on his shirt and began to march alongside.

He too was tired of the violence, he said. Before long a few others joined.

A bag of toys was distributed to children playing outside.

Willett and Washington organized the march in the wake of the recent fatal shootings.

One of the peace march's first stops was the scene of the most recent fatal shooting of Kenye Cooper Sr., 26, in the 1000 block of 61st Avenue Drive East.

Deputies responding Dec. 16 to the 1000 block of 61st Avenue Drive East found Cooper shot to death in a sport utility vehicle three houses away from where a shootout involving four men occurred.

Napolean Hale, 37, one of two residents reportedly involved in the shooting, was arrested and charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He was released the next day from Manatee County jail after posting $7,500 bond.

Two days later, Hale was charged with murder.

Cooper's accomplice, Fredrick Dinel Smith, 24, got away the night of the shooting, but was arrested the following morning in Sarasota and charged with second-degree murder.

Hale is being held without bond at the Manatee County jail.

Smith was transferred Monday to the Manatee County jail from Sarasota and is being held on a $250,000 bond.

Just three days later, on Dec. 19, 27-year-old Kevin McCants was called to a car in the 1000 block of 33rd Avenue East in Bradenton and shot to death.

Several witnesses identified Robert Eugene Brewer, 20, as the shooter, according to authorities. Three other men were believed to be in the black Toyota Camry with Brewer and all drove off after McCants was killed.

Within hours of the shooting, detectives obtained a warrant charging Brewer with second-degree murder but he remains at large.

Brewer, considered armed and dangerous, is believed to still be in the area, detectives have said.

People are encouraged to call Ben Main, lead homicide detective on the case, at 941-747-3011, ext. 2161.

Next Sunday, the group plans to march for peace again this time marching to 1000 block of 33rd Avenue East where McCants was shot dead.

Jessica De Leon, Herald law enforcement reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7049. You can be reached at 941-745-7049. You can follow her on Twitter@JDeLeon1012.

This story was originally published December 27, 2015 at 6:54 PM with the headline "Residents march for peace in Manatee County's Pride Park community in wake of recent fatal shootings ."