New details emerge on arrest of suspect in deadly Bradenton home invasion
MANATEE -- New details have emerged surrounding the arrest of a Bradenton man facing charges for the home invasion-turned-shootout last week that left one man dead.
Courtney Lawrence, 27, was charged late Friday with murder and booked into the Manatee County jail. He is being held without bond, according to the sheriff's office website.
Lawrence was scheduled to appear Monday before Judge Robert A. Farrance during a first appearance hearing but was unable to because he was in the hospital. The sheriff's office said Saturday armed home invasion and other charges are still pending against Lawrence, whose alias is "Murder."
"I'll continue for 48 hours," Farrance said at the first appearance hearing after being told Lawrence was at a hos
pital. "In the meantime, if he qualifies I'll apply to the Public Defender's Office to represent him."
Sheriff's office spokesman Dave Bristow said Monday detectives are still working on the case.
"We still have two or three suspects that are at large," he said. "We have a total of four to five suspects -- one was shot and killed that night, the other one (Lawrence) was shot and now has been charged with homicide and we still have two, possibly three that we're looking for."
At 10:26 p.m. May 4, four or five gunmen stormed the home of a 38-year-old man in the 700 block of 64th Avenue East in Bradenton and demanded money. Detectives say the resident and suspects exchanged gunfire, injuring the resident and Emanuel Johnson, one of the suspects.
Within moments, the resident's wife arrived from a trip to 7-Eleven with two children to find her husband and Johnson lying on the ground at the entryway to the garage.
She was pointing a gun at Johnson when deputies arrived.
Johnson, 27, was later pronounced dead at a local hospital.
According to a report, Lawrence arrived at the Manatee Memorial Hospital within a half hour of the shooting after being driven there by a man whose name was not included in the report. He was left at the emergency room with multiple gunshot wounds to his buttocks and an injury to his shoulder.
The unidentified man told deputies that Lawrence arrived at his home needing a ride to the hospital. According to the report, Lawrence admitted he committed a robbery that went bad and that his partner had been shot and killed. While driving to the hospital, Lawrence borrowed a phone and made a call to his girlfriend. Deputies said the man heard Lawrence admit again that he was committing a robbery when he was shot.
Johnson's mother spoke to a sheriff's office detective and said Johnson had been with Lawrence and several others and that she warned her son not to follow Lawrence around due to his violent behavior, according to the report. Lawrence's family then began to post on Facebook that Lawrence had been shot and that his friend died in the process.
Lawrence, who has the word "murder" tattooed on his neck, is on probation for his most recent conviction. He was released from prison Aug. 26 after serving three years and three months for separate convictions of armed robbery with a deadly weapon and sale or delivery of a controlled substance. The armed robbery charge was initially charged as armed home invasion, but Courtney pleaded to the lesser offense.
Lawrence also served less than four years of a five-year sentence for two separate armed robbery convictions. His juvenile record includes conviction for burglary, grand theft of a motor vehicle, attempted burglary of a dwelling, burglary of a dwelling and grand theft.
Anyone with information about the home invasion and shooting can call the Manatee County Sheriff's Office at 941-747-3011, ext. 2519.
Jessica De Leon, Herald law enforcement reporter, contributed to this report.
Amaris Castillo, law enforcement/island reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7051. Follow her on Twitter @AmarisCastillo.
This story was originally published May 9, 2016 at 11:35 PM with the headline "New details emerge on arrest of suspect in deadly Bradenton home invasion ."