Brent Levi Alley, a 20-year-old Black/African American man, was fatally shot on April 29, 2023, during what Pinellas County investigators described as a planned robbery connected to a large marijuana purchase in unincorporated Largo, Florida. Although some early reporting listed Alley as 22, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office identified him as 20 and listed his date of birth as December 12, 2002. Alley was from Callahan and had been living in the Jacksonville area.
On the day he was killed, he and 22-year-old Kyle Foster traveled from Jacksonville to the Tampa Bay area in a rented Porsche carrying approximately $40,000 in cash. Investigators said the money was intended for the purchase of a large quantity of high-grade marijuana.
According to Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, Alley had been obtaining marijuana from Joshua Ashley for about a year. Investigators said Ashley knew Alley was coming to Pinellas County with a substantial amount of cash but, rather than complete the planned drug sale, Ashley allegedly joined Scott Laracuente, Terrell Jackson and Tyaire Turner in a plan to rob him. Authorities said Ashley and Jackson obtained a handgun belonging to Ashley before the meeting, and the four men gathered at the All American Business Center at 8300 Ulmerton Road, where Laracuente was living in a first-floor unit. The alleged plan called for Turner to conceal himself in a stairwell with the firearm, appear during the meeting, threaten Alley and take the bag containing the money.
Alley and Foster arrived at the business center at approximately 5:45 p.m. and entered the unit, where Ashley, Jackson and Laracuente were waiting while Turner remained hidden. Investigators said Alley became suspicious when he saw the number of people inside. He returned to the Porsche, removed the $40,000 from the bag and secured the cash inside the vehicle. He then armed himself and went back into the unit carrying the now-empty bag. The group remained there for some time, and around 6:30 p.m., Ashley and Jackson left to obtain food. They returned at about 7:10 p.m.
Authorities said that as Ashley handed Alley his food, Turner emerged from his concealed position wearing a mask and opened fire. Alley was struck once in the abdomen. Seriously wounded, he managed to get outside and into the parking lot, where surveillance evidence captured him crying out for help as he collapsed. Deputies and paramedics responded to the business center and found him suffering from the gunshot wound. He was transported to HCA Florida Largo Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. One report placed his time of death at approximately 8:18 p.m. Investigators later recovered the $40,000 from the Porsche, meaning the group accused of arranging the robbery did not obtain the cash Alley had brought to Largo.
The suspects scattered after the shooting. Authorities said Turner fled toward northern Virginia, while Laracuente, Jackson and Ashley eventually traveled west. Investigators tracked Laracuente, Jackson and Ashley to the Las Vegas area, where they were taken into custody with assistance from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. Turner was located in Virginia and arrested with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Scott Laracuente, Terrell Jackson and Joshua Ashley were also reported arrested on charges that included conspiracy to sell cannabis and unlawful use of a two-way communication device in addition to the homicide allegation.
A Pinellas County grand jury indicted Tyaire Turner, Scott Laracuente, Terrell Jackson and Joshua Ashley on first-degree murder charges in connection with Alley’s death. Authorities alleged that each man participated in the underlying robbery plan even though Turner was identified as the person who emerged from hiding and shot Alley. Under the prosecution’s theory, the four could be held responsible for the killing because it occurred during the execution of their alleged plan to rob Alley. The online sources located for this synopsis document the arrests and first-degree-murder indictments but do not establish a subsequent trial verdict or conviction for any of the four defendants.
