RIVERVIEW, Fla. (WFLA) — The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office arrested the suspect in a fatal road rage shooting in Riverview over the weekend.
The sheriff’s office said Kentavious Gholston, 26, was identified as the shooter.
“A Sunday afternoon turned into a nightmare that cost a life, leaving a family shattered by this senseless violence,” said Sheriff Chad Chronister. “This reckless act shows a complete disregard for human life. Violence is never the answer, and this tragedy could have been entirely avoided.”
Gholston is facing charges of 2nd-degree murder with a firearm, aggravated assault with a firearm, tampering with physical evidence, and domestic violence by strangulation.
The sheriff’s office has now identified the victim as Steven Edward Powers, 61.
The Sheriff’s office said the incident happened at about 2:15 p.m. Sunday near the intersection of U.S. 301 and Bloomingdale Avenue.
Chronister said Powers was in a work van with his grandson — headed north on Highway 301 approaching Bloomingdale Avenue — when they saw a black Mazda driving recklessly. The Mazda, allegedly driven by Gholston, cut off Powers.
Powers began honking at Gholston, who started brake checking Powers, Chronister said. Gholston thought Powers hit his car, so he put his car in park in the middle of the road. Powers got out of the car and approached the Mazda. Powers tried to throw a punch at Gholston but Gholston threw him to the ground.
While Powers was on the ground, Chronister said Gholston shot him in the back three times, and then fired two more shots at him, hitting him a total of four times.
Chronister said pushing Powers to the ground was justified, but there was no justification to shoot him, adding that neither Gholston or his attorney ever tried to claim self-defense.
“You pushed him to the ground. The threat’s over,” Chronister said. “To execute him by shooting him three times, and then when he falls to the ground, see that he’s still breathing, to finish him off and shoot him two more times…I don’t know how they could ever make a claim that it’s anything but homicide.”
The sheriff said after media outlets reported on the shooting, they were flooded with video from the fight. One of the videos was from a dashcam that captured a clear image of the license plate. A nearby prep school also caught the entire incident on video.
A debit card was dropped at the scene of the shooting, which was traced back to Gholston, Chronister said. The debit card and the Mazda belonged to the mother, who is cooperating with the investigation.
Gholston allegedly parked the car at a random apartment complex, took the license plate off, and then threw the gun into a retention pond, Chronister said. There was no damage to the vehicle, despite Gholston believing Powers crashed into him.
Gholston is on probation out of Hernando County and is not allowed to have a gun, Chronister said.
Multiple people called 911 after seeing the shooting.
“When our deputies arrived, they found a man with upper body trauma and he was immediately transported to Brandon Regional Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries,” said Casey Minuto with the Sheriff’s Office.
Chronister said no one should lose their life like this.
“You should never have to worry about losing your life because of a disagreement in traffic,” Chronister said.
He said the case moved quickly thanks to witness reports.
“There’s more people moving here every day,” Chronister said. “We’re all going to get frustrated in traffic. Take a deep breath. We should never let our emotions get the best of us.”
State Attorney Suzy Lopez said the state will request that Gholston remain jailed until his trial.
“He executed a 61-year-old grandfather in the middle of a busy intersection,” Lopez said.