2 Men Indicted For Mass Shooting That Injured 11 Men In Lakeland

TAMPA, FL — Two Lakeland men have been indicted in the Jan. 30 mass shooting of 11 men in outside an apartment complex near Iowa Avenue North and Plum Street in Lakeland.

United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg said indictments were returned charging Nicholas Quinton Hanson, 32, with possessing ammunition as a convicted felon and Marcus Dewonn Mobley Jr., 22, with possessing a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon.

If convicted, each faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison.

According to court documents and information presented in court, Hanson, Mobley and others shot 11 men from a blue Nissan Altima in a drive-by shooting. The victims all survived.

Crime scene technicians recovered 9-millimeter, .40-caliber and 5.56-millimeter spent shell casings from the crime scene. The evidence includes DNA collected from some of those shell casings, as well as from the Altima.

According to court documents, Mobley’s DNA was recovered from a .40-caliber spent shell casing and the Altima. Hanson’s DNA was recovered from two spent 9-millimeter shell casings. Officers also seized a loaded 9-millimeter handgun from Hanson’s home.

Lakeland Police Chief Sam Taylor said detectives worked tirelessly to bring the shooters to justice.

Police found marijuana at the scene in a quantity that indicated a drug deal was taking place and believe the victims were targeted.

All of those who were shot are men between the ages of 20 to 35. Three were taken by ambulance to the hospital and the rest were driven by car. Two men were seriously injured. One suffered a gunshot to the abdomen and another was struck in the jaw by a bullet.

According to police, the 11 men who were shot were gathered outside an apartment complex near Iowa Avenue North and Plum Street at 3:43 p.m. when a dark blue Nissan Altima four-door car with dark-tinted windows and temporary tags slowed down. The four occupants of the car rolled down the windows and at least two of them began shooting at the men, Taylor said.

The car then sped away north on Iowa Avenue and east on Memorial Boulevard. A patrol officer spotted the car Tuesday morning in a neighborhood in East Lakeland.

Related:

• Car In Drive-By Shooting Of 11 Men Found, $5K Reward: Lakeland Police
• 10 Hurt In Lakeland Mass Shooting; Police Suspect Link To Drug Sales

Police are still searching for two other men who were in the Nissan at the time of the shooting.

In partnership with Heartland Crime Stoppers Florida, a reward of up to $5,000 is being offered to anyone with information that leads to the identification and arrest of those involved.

To remain anonymous and be eligible for a reward, contact Heartland Crime Stoppers Florida:

• Call 1-800-226 TIPS (8477)
• From a cell phone, dial **TIPS
• Or download the free "P3tips" app on your smartphone or tablet.

Helping Lakeland police investigate the shooting were the Strategic Pattern Armed Robbery Technical Apprehension unit of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the FBI, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office and the State Attorney’s Office for Florida’s 10th Judicial Circuit.