Suspect in slayings of 2 Fla. officers surrenders

TAMPA, Fla. — A convicted felon accused of killing two Tampa police officers during a traffic stop surrendered after detectives spent more than a day negotiating with an associate of the man, police said Saturday.

Dontae Rashawn Morris, 24, turned himself in at a police station about 10:30 p.m. Friday, police said. He was charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of officers David Curtis and Jeffrey Kocab early Tuesday.

"Honestly I can never remember a point in my life where I felt more relieved," said Tampa Police Chief Jane Castor.

Police said Morris also was suspected in two other slayings, and by early Saturday he faced a third murder charge in the May 18 shooting death of a man killed outside his family's Tampa apartment. A statement from Tampa police Public Information Officer Laura McElroy said ballistic tests indicate the same gun was used in the officers' killings this week.

Morris was scheduled to make his first court appearance Saturday. Officials did not know whether he had an attorney.

Hundreds of officers in tactical gear had combed apartment buildings, vacant homes and even waterways during an intense manhunt for Morris following the officers' deaths. Detectives fielded more than 400 tips.

McElroy's statement said the surrender came nearly 30 hours after detectives began negotiations with an associate of Morris. That dialogue with the associate eventually led to Morris turning himself in, and the associate will be entitled to a $100,000 reward that had been offered for information leading to his arrest, the statement said.

A short time later, police also announced that Morris' 21-year-old brother was arrested early Saturday morning at a Tampa motel on charges of domestic violence and possession of cocaine and marijuana.

News of the surrender and charges came just hours after a wake for officers Curtis and Kocab drew hundreds of mourners to a crowded church. Photographs of Curtis with his wife and four sons were shown on large screens. Kocab was pictured with his wife, who is nine months pregnant.

Funerals for the two men, who were both 31, were scheduled for Saturday.