Paul01

CLEARWATER — Two men sought in the fatal shooting of a 34-year-old Clearwater woman riding her bicycle Sunday night may have tried to rob her and could be the same men who robbed a man in Dunedin less than an hour earlier, authorities said.

Zorana Lebedic, of 1799 N Highland Ave., Apt. 60, was killed just after 11 p.m. at Palmetto Street and Fairburn Avenue in a residential neighborhood just west of N Betty Lane. It happened a block east of Clearwater Intermediate School.

About 45 minutes earlier, at about 10:20 p.m., two men robbed a 34-year-old man walking on Beltrees Street near Louden Avenue in Dunedin, which is about two and a half miles north of the Clearwater shooting.

In that case, one of the men pointed a dark-colored handgun at the man and took his cell phone, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office. The two men then drove off in a tan or beige sedan, possibly with four doors.

The man who was robbed, who has not been identified because he is a witness, noted the car had a "loud exhaust" and looked like an unmarked police car. Authorities hope someone will be familiar with that vehicle.

"Somebody's got to recognize it, I would hope," said Sheriff's Office spokesman Sgt. Tom Nestor.

The car in that robbery matches the description of a vehicle seen at the scene of Lebedic's slaying, said Clearwater police spokeswoman Elizabeth Watts.

The victim in the Dunedin robbery said the men were black and wore dark clothing and handkerchiefs over their faces, the Sheriff's Office said. Both had guns. One suspect is about 6 feet tall, 170 to 180 pounds and had short, dark hair. The second is described as under 6 feet tall with a slim to medium build and short, dark hair.

It's unclear if the men took anything from Lebedic before or after shooting her.

Clearwater police found her bicycle and a backpack near her body after the shooting.
"We still don't know if something was taken off her person or from her belongings," Watts said.

Nestor said the two agencies made the connection through a common investigative tactic: communication.

"The robbery and homicide units of all the agencies, they work closely together. They have monthly robbery unit meetings with all the detectives from the area and they go over their cases and compare notes," Nestor said. "So I'm sure in this case there was some talk back and forth between the agencies: Have you had anything similar? Does this sound familiar to you?"

https://www.tampabay.com/news/publics...tified/1193860

wfin2004

can we confuse bike rider with someone who is just riding a bike at midnight in the ghetto?

TrailViewMount

When you are out late, that's when bad things happen. Common sense.

Paul01

Then, you say, it's the cyclist's fault and we shouldn't ride at night?

Would you propose legislation limiting cycling to the day light hours?

Whose side are you you on?

TrailViewMount

My statement is a fact. Robberies, murders, etc., happen mostly at night. Not in daylight hours.

Paul01

O.K. I promise I won't leave my house between sunset and sunrise on bike,for foot , or in the car.

prathmann

According to the charts at:
https://tommytoy.typepad.com/tommy-to...rpetrator.html
this varies quite a bit from city to city. I.e. robberies in Chicago are more common from about 5 - 9pm with a pretty rapid fall in frequency later at night whereas Philadelphia has a much more uniform rate throughout both daylight and night hours. But in general late-night times, such as after 11pm when the woman was shot and possibly robbed, don't seem to have a particularly high robbery rate.

stevecan

You're probably right about the frequency of robberies not being particularly high at night. What I would be more concerned about is the percentage of dirtbags per regular people out and about population at night. In daylight I'd bet the ratio is near 90% good people to 10% dirtbags. In late evening hours I'll bet the numbers are closer to 70% dirtbags to 30% decent folks.

Just sayin'