2 Arrested at Protest Over Unarmed Black Man’s Death

TAMPA, FL — Two St. Petersburg residents face charges after Tampa Police say they broke through a line of officers during a Friday evening protest related to the shooting death of an unarmed black man by a Hillsborough County Sheriff’s deputy.

Levonia “Daddyman” Riggins, 22, was shot and killed by a Hillsborough SWAT team member during a warrant search at his Clair-Mel home Aug. 30. Everyone inside the home came out at the command of deputies, except Riggins, the subject of the warrant, Hillsborough deputies said at the time.

Riggins was spotted through a bedroom window. He was reportedly under the covers of a bed and did not comply with commands to come out, the sheriff’s office has said. Deputy Caleb Johnson, a seven-year veteran of the sheriff’s office, “perceived Riggins as an immediate threat” and shot him, the sheriff’s office said.

While Johnson, 32, is on administrative leave following the incident, protests have been cropping up in Clair-Mel and Tampa as Riggins’ family prepares for his Saturday funeral. The family wants an apology from Sheriff David Gee and has called for murder charges to be filed against Johnson, several media outlets have reported.

Friday’s protest began around 5 p.m. along 19th Street, near 9th Avenue and Palm. About 15 protesters turned out with signs to march near the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office Operations Center in Ybor City, Tampa police said in an email to media. The two people arrested were charged “after they broke through a line of officers preventing demonstrators from entering busy roadways,” an email from police said. “There were no reported injuries or property damage.”

Those arrested were:

• Jason Stuart Flores, 31, of St. Petersburg on three counts of battery on a law enforcement officer and one count of resisting arrest without violence
• Chardonnay Singleton, 28, of St. Petersburg on charges of resisting arrest without violence and disorderly conduct

The shooting remains under investigation by the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office.

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