A Florida man has been charged with two counts of murder after a man and a woman were found shot to death late last week in Tampa.
The scene had already taken a tragic turn by the time officers showed up around 11 a.m., discovering two individuals—a 37-year-old man and a 40-year-old woman—deceased, with Louis Jules, 59, nowhere to be found, according to WFLA.
Jules was located before 6 p.m. and arrested.
According to police, they found a cell phone next the woman that captured the final moments of her life, Law&Crime reported.
An affidavit details surveillance footage capturing a man, later identified as Jules, standing outside a truck’s rear passenger seat as he begins to search inside the vehicle. A male voice, presumably belonging to the male victim, is heard telling him, “Hey, you can’t go in my car.” The woman also speaks, saying, “You can’t search [his] vehicle.”
Jules then tosses the liquid contents of a cup he was carrying at the man and draws a semi-automatic firearm from his right side.
“The video then shows the defendant point the firearm in the direction where the male victim was found and racks the slide back,” the affidavit said.
Soon after, gunfire erupts, prompting a scream from the woman, with the video she is recording becoming “very shaky” as she attempts to find safety. Additional shots are heard before Jules shuts the vehicle door and departs the scene.
Jules was recognized as the individual in the footage by two of his neighbors, as well as his landlord. Authorities located him at a different address, where they found a red pickup truck in his name. As officers approached, Jules “discarded a black semi-automatic pistol” into the truck bed.
In a post-Miranda interview, Jules acknowledged being acquainted with the victims and alleged they owed him money for a vehicle he had sold to them. He recounted arguing with them the night before and believed they were taking him to an ATM to settle the debt when they arrived the following morning.
However, once realizing their intentions differed, Jules stated he “was very angry.” When police presented the video to him, he confirmed his identity in it.
Jules was charged with two counts of first degree murder and one count of tampering with evidence. He’s being held without bond with a court appearance set for Thursday.
