Bradenton Double Homicide Victims Identified

BRADENTON, FL — The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a double homicide that occurred in Bradenton Friday afternoon.

According to the agency, deputies responded to a call from the 5200 block of 15th Street Court East around 1:20 p.m. Jan. 13. When they arrived, they found the bodies of man and woman outside the home.

“Detectives are working the incident as a double homicide,” an email from the agency said.

A photograph of a suspect vehicle was released by the sheriff's office Friday afternoon. Detectives say the vehicle is a dark-colored sedan. The suspect is a light-skinned black male who was last seen wearing a red cap and a white T-shirt.

Deputies ask that anyone with information about the vehicle or its driver contact the sheriff's office at 941-747-3011 or Crime Stoppers at 866-634-TIPS.

Late Friday afternoon, the sheriff's office released the names of the victims. They are Lashawna Stevenson-Weeks, 27, and Barry Joseph, 32.

"Both victims are from Manatee County but neither lived at the residence where the incident occurred," the sheriff's office said.

No further information is being released at this time, including how the two died.

Photo of the suspect's vehicle courtesy of the Manatee County Sheriff's Office