Man Found Dead In Sarasota Identified

SARASOTA, FL — The Sarasota Police Department is investigating the discovery of a body in the area of Bahia Vista Street and Yale Avenue early Saturday morning.

According to the agency, the body was discovered around 7:30 a.m. Aug. 5. The Manatee County Sheriff's Office released name of the man in the Sarasota case Saturday evening. Authorities say he is Andre S. Bryant, 31.

A possible connection between Bryant's death and a double homicide in Bradenton on Saturday morning remains under investigation.

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The double homicide in Bradenton was uncovered when Manatee County deputies received a report from a 25-year-old woman Saturday morning. The unidentified woman told deputies she returned to her home on Harvard Avenue was accosted by several people.

“The female was forced into a bedroom,” an email from the Manatee sheriff's office said. “While in the bedroom, the female heard yelling and then gunshots.”

The woman was able to escape the home and notify the sheriff’s office. Two males were found deceased in the home when the sheriff's office arrived, the email said. One of the men has been identified as Rodney Williams, 23, of Tampa. The second victim is a 28-year-old from Jacksonville. Deputies are withholding the man's name until next of kin is notified.

"Detectives believe Williams arrived at the residence shortly after the female returned home," a Saturday evening email from the sheriff's office said. "Williams was with the boyfriend of the female and possibly one other subject."

Deputies say Williams and those he was with encountered the suspects and an exchange of gunfire occurred. Williams and the man from Jacksonville were killed inside the home.

No further information is available about either case at this time.

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