Jeffrey Lee Blevins, a 56-year-old man from Bartow, Florida, was killed late on March 26, 2026, outside the Fountain Place Apartments on North Wilson Avenue. He had been standing outside the apartment he shared with his sister, reportedly talking on the phone with his mother around 11 p.m., when the call suddenly changed. His mother heard what sounded like him falling, then called out to him and got no response.
Alarmed, she contacted his sister inside the apartment and asked her to check on him.
When Blevins' sister went outside, she found him lying in a pool of blood and called police. Bartow officers arrived quickly, and emergency crews attempted lifesaving measures before taking him to Bartow Regional Medical Center. He was pronounced dead at about 11:55 p.m. Authorities later said Blevins had been shot in the head with a single bullet, leaving entrance and exit wounds, and investigators recovered a 9mm shell casing at the scene.
At first, the case appeared difficult to solve. Investigators said there was no immediate witness who could identify the shooter and no surveillance video that clearly showed what had happened. Sheriff Grady Judd described Blevins as non-confrontational, easygoing, well-liked, and not someone known for causing problems. Neighbors also described the apartment complex as generally quiet, making the sudden violence even more unsettling.
Detectives from the Polk County Sheriff's Office and the Bartow Police Department began canvassing the apartment complex and speaking with residents. Their attention eventually turned to David Richard Morris, a 48-year-old resident who lived upstairs from Blevins and shared an apartment with his mother. According to investigators, residents described Morris as aggressive toward other tenants, and one person told detectives that Morris had previously had a confrontation with Blevins. Another resident reportedly said Morris would brag about his gun when he was high on methamphetamine.
Investigators obtained a search warrant for Morris' apartment. During the search, authorities said Morris refused to stay seated and interfered with detectives by yelling at them. Inside the apartment, detectives found two street signs they said were illegally possessed, but the more significant discovery was a 9mm handgun in a bedroom closet. The gun appeared to have blood on it, and investigators also found a white towel and clothing that appeared to be bloodstained.
Morris was initially arrested on charges of resisting without violence and two counts of interfering with a traffic control device. As detectives continued working the case, forensic investigators tested the 9mm handgun recovered from his apartment. Shell casing samples from the gun were entered into the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network and compared with the casing found near Blevins' body. Authorities said the comparison confirmed that Morris' firearm was the murder weapon.
On March 28, 2026, Morris was charged with second-degree murder without premeditation and discharging a firearm in a residential area. At his first appearance the next day, he was ordered held without bond on the murder charge. He received separate bonds on the additional charges, including discharging a firearm in a residential area, resisting without violence, and interfering with a traffic control device.
Investigators said the motive remained unclear. Sheriff Judd said there was no known fight that night and no obvious explanation for why Blevins was targeted. Morris had invoked his right to an attorney, limiting what investigators could learn directly from him. Authorities said the investigation was ongoing, with additional evidence still expected to undergo testing, and officials noted that charges could potentially change depending on what the continued investigation revealed.
